The Meaning of My Life
by hilandmum
Summary: House is searching for a baby and his mother, hoping to make his life mean something.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Meaning of My Life

**Prologue:**

Where did this begin? Or should I say when? Was it the day I was shot? Or was it one of the few patients who actually got through to me? Maybe it was when Amber died, or Kutner, or when I entered Mayfield, and then was released? The thing with Cuddy had to have something to do with it, although, in retrospect, it was a diversion that should never have happened.

Anyway, one thing led to another, as they usually do, and here I was, riding the back roads of New Jersey looking for the meaning of life, more specifically, of my life. And for an elusive mother and child. I don't mean it to sound like there was something religious about it or even mystical. They were real, and I'd decided it was imperative for me to find them.

Foreman has been saying for a long time that he doesn't want to be me and end his life alone. Well, I don't want to do that either. It doesn't have to happen. Cuddy was obviously not the answer to that, but she couldn't be my last hope.

I don't mind being alone, of course, but that's not the same thing. It's important that my life means more than the forty or so patients I diagnose every year. I have to mean something to someone. There has to be more that I contribute to this world, more connections I make with humanity. More I leave behind as a legacy. Starting with Eleanor Giordano and her son Christopher.

Oh, I know people think I'm a misanthropic curmudgeon, an impression I've worked hard to convey to keep anyone from getting too close to me because when things go wrong, and they always do, well, it hurts too much. Even my BFF, Wilson, thinks I like being miserable, and want everyone to be miserable too. Not true. He thinks I begrudge anyone else's happiness and will do anything in my power to destroy it. Maybe I test it, but I wouldn't take away anyone's happiness if it was real, and I wouldn't mind a little bit myself.

As I said, I thought I'd found it with my boss a while back, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't shake her belief that I'd screw things up. She didn't have any faith in me as a human being, only as her star doctor. And despite her claims that she didn't want to change me, neither one of us believed I could be the man she wanted me to be. When she broke off with me, it sent me back to drugs. OK, maybe I was already back on Vicodin and that had been the last straw. I fought a depression so deep that I was afraid I'd never crawl out of it even though I indulged in every life-affirming activity I could think of.

Wilson, in all his self-proclaimed wisdom, was afraid I was suicidal. But I don't really have a death wish, never have. I don't want to die, and I don't want any of my patients to die either. I might not connect with most of them, but I do all that I can to find out what's wrong with them.

Everyone thinks that the only reason I'm a diagnostician is because I enjoy solving the mystery of what's wrong with a patient, and maybe that's mostly true. But that's 'mostly', not 'completely'. The patients I like and connect with are few and far between, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

Anyway, I met one of those people a week ago, and now I'm trying to find her again. I didn't have much to go on. She'd come into the clinic to have us treat her baby. Now I hate clinic like the plague. Although, now that I think about it, a good plague can be kind of interesting. But clinic patients tend to be boring. Crotch rot and snotty nosed kids, simple colds and flu, clumsy idiots who'd inadvertently cut or burned or otherwise injured themselves.

This case was different. The baby was really sick, but when I told the mother I wanted to admit him and have my team examine him, she took off. And now, here I was, trying to find them.

The baby had a fascinating combination of symptoms, and that alone would have piqued my interest. Added to that, there was something about the mother's hollow eyes that haunted me. I had to find them, diagnose the baby, and learn the story of his mother. All I knew were the names she gave to the clinic intake clerk, Eleanor and Christopher Giordano. But several days of searching the Internet showed that a baby boy named Christopher had been born to Eleanor and Peter Giordano eight months ago at Trenton General, and that there was a Peter Giordano living in a small town on the Delaware River.

So I sped down the road, heading for that town, and hoping I wasn't too late. For Christopher and for me.

**Chapter 1.**

Dorsey is a small town on the Delaware River. A very small town, the kind with one main street and two traffic lights. The main street holds most of the commercial establishments, gas stations, shops, restaurants and the like. As I rode through I could see no evidence of any heavy industry or major businesses.

I pulled into one of the gas stations and waited for the attendant to 'fill 'er up'. When he'd finished and took my credit card, I asked him whether he knew the Giordano's.

"You mean Mr. Pete?" he asked. "Everyone knows Pete Giordano."

"What about Eleanor and the kid?" House.

"Who?"

House was puzzled. Why didn't this kid know Eleanor and Christopher if he knew Peter? "Isn't Pete married?"

"You must be thinking of another Peter Giordano," the attendant said, handing me my credit card receipt. "I hear Mr. Pete lost his wife over ten years ago."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Something just didn't add up. "Where might I find this Mr. Pete Giordano?"

"Over at the hardware store," the kid said. "Giordano's."

"He owns it?"

"And a few other businesses in town," the attendant said with a nod.

"Well, thanks," I said, starting my car again. You can always use something from a hardware store, even if it's only a package of batteries, so I decided that was my next stop.

I was able to park in the little lot out front. When I entered, hearing the bell above the door tinkle, I found myself smiling. My Uncle Herb used to work at a place like this. I was only there once or twice when I was a kid, and I idly wondered what had happened to the store, or my Uncle Herb for that matter.

I guess you'd call it old-fashioned. None of this bright lighting, signs and men in matching shop aprons to show you where anything was. Either you knew or you didn't. Jumbles of tools, screws and nuts and bolts, bins of things that I didn't recognize, dusty boxes of small appliances. There was even a smell to the place, a mix of gear oil and sawdust, fertilizer and wax, and overlaying it all, testosterone, odors and sights that wouldn't be allowed at any Home Depot or Lowes.

The man at the cash register wore a plaid shirt and bib overalls. Average height and weight, average length brownish hair, he seemed to be watching me meander through the maze of the store.

"I'm looking for Pete," I finally told him, placing a package of AA cells on his counter.

"He's not here today," Average said, ringing me up. He was still staring at me.

"Do you know where he is, then?" I handed over a ten and took my batteries and change.

He shook his head. "I don't question what the boss decides to do."

"Very wise," I agreed, although it certainly wasn't the way I operated. "And Junior?" I guessed. Maybe that would elicit more useful information.

Average hesitated. "No one knows where he got to after he took off with that floozie."

I raised an eyebrow and waited silently for him to go on. "The boss was frantic at first, ya know. Hurt, angry. He didn't show it, of course, but I think he was mostly worried."

"When was this?" I finally asked.

"You don't know anything, do you? Why are you looking for them? Did Junior get himself into some kind of trouble?"

"Why? Is that what you expected to happen?"

"Everyone knew he was a wild one."

But that was all I could get out of the man, and my stomach was beginning to grumble that it needed to be fed. "Where can a guy get a decent meal in this town?" I asked Average.

"That would be Boomer's. Two streets down on the right," he replied. "They do a mean hot open roast beef."

I nodded and walked out the door. It wasn't as easy to park in front of Boomer's. Maybe it was the only eatery in town because the parking lot was jammed and cars and pickups were parked up and down each side of the street. I finally found a spot when someone left.

Every table inside was occupied, so I sat at the short bar on one side of the place, thinking a beer and a sandwich would hit the spot. And then I saw her. The most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She could have given some of those Hollywood beauties a run for their money. Long dark hair framed a pale oval face featuring red lips and flashing chocolate brown eyes. She wasn't alone, but my eyes were so focused on her, they didn't have much time for the three women with her.

They were sitting not far from me, and I couldn't stop staring at her. Not the kind of woman who'd give me a second look. But that didn't mean I couldn't watch her. She had a lovely face, and her gestures were lovely, too. I could hear the sound of her melodic voice and her laugh. But I couldn't very well ask about her, or at least her alone, so I turned to the bartender and asked, "Who are those four women?"

"Oh, them? We call them the Wednesday Club being as they come in together for lunch every Wednesday." he said.

I nodded for him to go on.

"The little redhead, she's Judge Norris' daughter, Katie. She's a teacher. And the two dark-haired beauties are Pete Giordano's girls, Nina and Jess."

Now that was interesting. So the beauty was Mr. Pete's daughter. "And the fourth one?"

"The blond is Cindy Sharp, she sells real estate."

"And they come in every Wednesday? Bet they're all married."

The bartender shook his head. "Only Katie. Cindy's divorced, and the Giordano girls are both single, although I think Nina was engaged a time or two." He shrugged. "Just never went through with it."

"What do they do?" House asked, taking advantage of the bartender's volubility.

"Nina, the one with the long black hair, runs the dress shop in town," he said. "And her sister keeps the books for all of their father's businesses."

The sister was pretty too, but not as breathtaking as Nina. "Don't they have a brother, too?" I probed.

"Junior?" The bartender said it with a sneer. "He run off with one of my best waitresses a year and a half ago." He shook his head. "Not surprising. He'd become a wild one, and all the girls were after him."

"Even Cindy and Katie?" I asked, reaching for the names of the two women sitting with his sisters.

The bartender chuckled. "Oh, yeah!"

The women had finished their lunches and stood to leave, giving each other pecks on the cheek and brief hugs good-bye. I turned back to my food and the bartender moved down to serve another customer.

Once I was finished, I paid for my meal. I still didn't know where Eleanor and Christopher Giordano were, but it was clear it wasn't in this town. I got into my car, and headed back to Princeton, disappointed, yet I knew I'd be back some time to see Nina Giordano. I wasn't sure how I'd arrange that, since I wasn't the type to frequent dress shops, but something would come to me. It always did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**.

Over the next week, my team and I had one of our more difficult cases. I had little time to think about Christopher Giordano, or his gorgeous aunt for that matter. But on Tuesday we finally got the break we needed. The patient was suffering from Mycetoma, a nocardiosis infection deep under his skin that he picked up by walking barefoot on soil contaminated with the bacteria. A course or two of Bactrim would cure him.

Left to my own devices, without a medical puzzle to solve, my mind reverted to the problem of the baby I couldn't find and his myriad of symptoms. I took advantage of the empty conference room and began to list those symptoms on the white board, then stood back to study them.

Everything from diarrhea to ear infections, lethargy to inability to sleep for long periods of time. It could be an infectious disease, like the last patient. Then again, there were a couple of autoimmune diseases that would fit. But the most likely was something genetic. Only I didn't know anything about diseases that ran in his family. But there were ways I could find out.

I might not have a clue about his maternal line, but there were three members of his father's family still living in Dorsey. This might warrant a second trip to that town. And of course, a reason to talk to the beauteous Nina.

Wednesday morning dawned sunny and warm, a great day to take the bike out for a ride. It wasn't long before I'd reached Dorsey. My original plan was to 'run into' the two sisters at Boomer's since it was Wednesday again, but it was only ten thirty, a little early for that, so I parked the bike not far from the restaurant and did a bit of recon.

It looked like Giordano senior was in love with his name. Besides the hardware store, there was Giordano's Bakery and Pete's Pets, and I could only assume Nina's was his daughter's dress shop. I decided he must pretty much run the town. But I hadn't heard any antagonism against him from the few folks I'd talked to the week before. Guess people liked things the way they were.

I finished my walk up and down the main street by eleven thirty. The restaurant was opening for lunch, and my leg was ready for me to sit down, so I went inside, taking the same seat at the bar that I'd occupied the week before. The bartender recognized me, and drew me a beer without asking. But when he placed it in front of me, he couldn't help ask, "What brings you back to Dorsey?" and I wondered fleetingly why the town was called Dorsey and not Giordano.

"It was a good day to take my bike out for a ride," I said, indicated the motorcycle parked out front.

He accepted that and went back to wiping the bar and tending to other customers who drifted in. Eventually I ordered a burger and fries, and ate it slowly waiting for the women to appear. I was half-way finished when the little redhead came in alone, followed almost immediately by the blond. The two sisters arrived together and seemed to be arguing about something, but promptly stopped when they saw their two friends. They greeted each other as women do with hugs and bright smiles, then sat down at the same table as the last time.

I could hear them as they placed their orders from the waitress working this side of the room, salads for all but Nina's sister. What was her name? Tess? No, Jess. She ordered a tuna melt and the others kidded her about her appetite and inability to gain weight. It seemed to be a long-standing theme.

I finished my burger and ordered another beer, figuring I could nurse it until the women were leaving and I could approach Nina alone. They seemed in no hurry, but eventually they all had to get back to their jobs. I tossed some money on the bar and timed my exit so I was walking out the same time as Nina, accidentally on purpose bumping into her, and quickly apologizing. "Oh, I'm sorry." I smiled pleasantly at her.

She eyed my cane and then my face. "That's OK," she said, a look of pity masking annoyance. "Didn't I see you here last week?"

"Guilty as charged," I said trying to look sheepish.

"You have business in Dorsey?"

"I'm looking for someone. Actually a couple of someones." I didn't want to let on that I'd been asking about her and knew who she was. "Peter Giordano and his wife and baby. Do you know them?"

She stared at me for so long that I began to think she wouldn't answer. But finally she said, "What kind of nut are you? I'm Nina Giordano. My father is Peter Giordano and he's a widower. He doesn't have a wife and he certainly doesn't have a baby!"

"Oh. I meant Junior," I explained.

Now she was glaring. "My brother isn't married, he doesn't have a baby either, and I haven't any idea where he is except that it's not in Dorsey."

"So I've heard," I said with a nod. "The thing is, I examined a eight-month old named Christopher Giordano a few weeks ago. The baby is the son of Peter and Eleanor Giordano."

"You're a doctor?" She looked me up and down quite skeptically, obviously not impressed with what she saw.

"No I just go around examining strange kids. Wait, that didn't come out the way I meant." I shrugged. "Yes, of course I'm a doctor!"

"Eleanor, you said? My brother actually married Ellie?"

"I wasn't there, so I couldn't tell you for a fact, but that's what it said on the kid's birth record," I replied.

She seemed to think about it for a while. "You should start with where the baby was born," she suggested.

"Now, why didn't I think of that?" I asked facetiously. Then rattled off all I'd learned. "He was born at Trenton General, in the ER. No one remembers much about the parents except that they arrived with the mother in labor and disappeared the next morning from the maternity ward."

"Didn't they give an address or anything?" Nina asked.

"No permanent address, no insurance, not even a Medicaid card, but Trenton General gets lots of cases like that." I sighed. Obviously there wasn't anything more this beautiful woman could tell me. Too bad. I was having fun talking to her.

"Nina, what happened to you?" Her sister appeared at her side. She stared at me. "Who are you?" she asked.

"He's a doctor, Jess, or claims to be, and he also claims that Petey married that Ellie creature and they have a kid," Nina replied for me.

"What are you doing here?" Jess asked me. She was as suspicious as Nina.

"I thought maybe someone in this town gave a crap about what happened to 'Petey' and 'Ellie', and might know where they are."

"Doctors don't do that," Jess said knowingly.

"This doctor sometimes does," I told her. Sure, it wasn't true, but she couldn't know that.

"You care that much?" Nina asked. "You said you only saw Ellie and the baby briefly."

I shrugged. I didn't have to explain myself to these two women. But I tried. "What's wrong with the baby is a mystery, a puzzle, and I _love_ a good puzzle."

The two of them exchanged a glance. "I think you should talk to our father," Jess said with a sigh.

I nodded. "I'd like to. Maybe he knows more about Petey than the two of you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

That's how I found myself escorted by Nina and Jess to their father's house on a hill overlooking the town. It was fake Tudor, meant to be imposing, but coming across as pretentious and cold. The gates to the drive opened for Nina in her BMW, and I quickly followed through on my bike, pulling up behind her in the circular driveway.

Jess brought up the rear in a spiffy little sports car. The three of us approached the front door together, but it was Nina who opened it.

"Father, where are you?" she called out.

"In the library," came the reply, but he was already coming toward us, a tall and imposing man with well-groomed gray hair, in casual black slacks, a tan checked shirt and a brown cashmere cardigan. Seeing me with his daughters, his thick brows rose questioningly.

"Father, this is..." Jess began, but then realized she didn't know my name.

"Dr. Gregory House," I supplied, looking the man straight in his gray eyes.

"Doctor," he said with a nod of his head. I noticed he didn't offer to shake my hand. That was fine with me. He looked at Jess to explain why I was there.

"Dr. House is looking for Petey and that waitress he ran off with," she said. "He thought we might know where they are."

Giordano stared at me. "I'm sure my daughters have told you we have no idea where he is."

I nodded.

Jess went on, "He says they have a baby and the baby is sick."

"A baby," Giordano repeated, but there was no response, emotional or otherwise.

"I examined Christopher at the hospital where I work a few weeks ago. The problem appeared to be chronic rather than acute, but if he's left untreated, it could get worse," I explained. "I can't be sure until I figure out what it is."

"Surely they gave you an address," Giordano said. He was beginning to sound annoyed with me, annoyed that anyone would bother him with this.

"They came into the clinic," I said. "We don't require that kind of information." I wish we did, but so many patients are homeless or transients that it wouldn't matter anyway.

"I'm sorry you wasted your time coming here. I can't help you," he said dismissively.

But I wouldn't leave that easily. "It's possible that it's genetic. Mr. Giordano, I understand you're a widower. What did Mrs. Giordano die from?"

"Really, that's none of your business!" he shouted.

But his daughters had grasped why I asked. "She was killed in an auto accident," Nina said. "It really has nothing to do with this."

I nodded and moved on. "What can you tell me about Ellie?"

"Nothing," Nina said.

But Jess asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Her maiden name, where she came from, that sort of thing."

Jess seemed to think about it. "Cleary, I think. Her name's Eleanor Cleary."

"And she's from around here?"

"How should we know?" Giordano asked.

Jess ignored her father. "Her parents live in that mobile home park just south of town, I think."

I nodded. Maybe they'd be more cooperative about giving me helpful information about Christopher's parents. "Well, sorry to take your time," I said, although I wasn't. But before I left, I shot one more comment Giordano's way. "I would have thought you might have cared a little more about helping your grandson."

"We only have your word that he is my grandson," was the response. "Good day to you, Doctor. I'm sure you can find your way out." He turned and left, walking back the way he came.

I left the two sisters standing there and went out to my bike. I guess the Giordanos were anxious for me to leave, because by the time I reached the gates at the end of the drive, they were open.

They hadn't been very forthcoming with information about Petey and Ellie, but I realized there was someone else in town who might know more about Christopher's mother. So I returned to Boomer's. It was mid-afternoon, and the place was fairly empty. The bartender was arranging bottles of alcoholic beverages and didn't see me at first, but when he caught a glimpse in the mirror above the bar, he turned and said, "You again."

"Got a couple more questions for you," I told him.

"Didn't get anywhere with Nina, did you?" he asked, smirking at me.

I ignored the comment and plunged in. "What can you tell me about Ellie Cleary?"

"Other than the fact that she took off one day without any warning?" he replied. "She was actually a pretty good waitress,"

"I understand her parents live just outside of town."

He nodded. "In the trailer park. Her mom works at the laundromat down the street from here. I think her dad was laid off from his job at the factory in Little Falls."

"Did she live with them?"

"No, she had a one-room place here in town."

I doubted that checking her place would be any help, so I didn't even bother to ask for the address. "Look, if you hear from her, give me a call?" I handed him my card. "I really need to find her and her son."

"Son? She has a kid?"

I nodded. "That's why I want to find her. The kid's sick and we need to find out what's wrong with him." I weighed my remaining options. "I'll go out and talk to her father. Thanks for your help."

He nodded. "I hope you find her. Aside from leaving me without one of my best waitresses, she was really a nice young woman. A little naïve, too trusting, but nice, ya know?"

"Which way to the trailer park?" I asked as I headed for the door.

"It's just south of town. Main Street continues on as a state road. It's about two miles on the left. Can't miss it."

I walked back out into the sunshine. It was beginning to get hot out, hotter than usual for this time of year. I got back on my bike and headed south, hoping this lead would help, but not very optimistic.

The stores and small office buildings ended abruptly, but as the bartender had said, the road continued on. Not much traffic this time of day, in either direction. Less than two miles out of town I saw the sign, Lazy Acres Mobile Park. About twenty or so single- and double-wide homes were arranged on either side of two intersecting lanes. Some seemed well cared for, with potted plants on brick or stone patios just outside the door and even a rose bush or two. Others had seen better days.

A woman stood outside one of the nicer places, using a garden hose to water her plants. I stopped and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me where I could find the Clearys?"

She studied me a bit and somehow concluded I wasn't there to steal their meager belongings or murder them. "Last place down that way," she said, pointing to a double-wide that was one of the nicest in the park.

"Thanks," I told her, and rode on.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

I parked the bike close to the mobile home, made my way up the steps, and knocked on the door. There was no answer at first, but I wasn't giving up so easily. Of course, there was no car nearby. Maybe Ellie's dad was off somewhere. I knocked again. This time there seemed to be someone moving inside but it took him a while to get to the door. The place couldn't be that big inside.

He opened the door a crack. "Yes?" His hair was a bit disheveled and his eyes bleary with sleep.

"Mr. Cleary?"

"What if I am? What do you want?"

What did I want? "I'm a doctor, and I'm looking for your daughter and grandson. Do you know where they are?"

"My daughter?"

His questions were beginning to get to me. "That's what I said."

He opened the door further, shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry. I guess I'm sounding out of it, but you woke me."

"It's three thirty in the afternoon. Even I don't sleep at this hour," I said.

"Yeah, well, I just started a part-time job this week as a night watchman. I gotta get some sleep when I can." He was beginning to wake up and think through what I said. "You said my daughter? Jaclyn?"

"You have two daughters," I concluded. "No, Ellie."

"Ellie doesn't have a son," he said.

"That's what people keep telling me. But the birth records say otherwise."

"A baby!" He ran that hand through his hair again. "We...we haven't heard from Ellie since she ran off with that no-good kid."

"Petey Giordano," I said.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Is it possible that your wife heard from them and didn't tell you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "We tell each other everything.

That didn't mean I wasn't going to find Mrs. Cleary, but another possible lead occurred to me. "Where can I find Jaclyn?"

"She's in New York. New York City." He didn't look happy about it. "Do you have kids, doctor?"

"No."

"I know Willa and I weren't able to give our girls all that we wanted, but we tried. Really hard. But Eleanor ran off with Petey Giordano, and then Jaclyn decided she could make it as a model in New York."

"Is that what she's doing there?" And why was it I had more questions than ever?

"No. Oh, I guess she's gotten a job or two, but she's supporting herself as a waitress, still dreaming big."

Waitressing jobs seemed to run in the family. "Were your daughters close?" I asked.

Cleary nodded. "I guess I can give you Jackie's address. If anyone knows where Ellie is, she will. She's never said anything to us, though."

"Thanks." I waited while he rummaged through some papers on a table that seemed to hold mail, mostly bills, and store circulars. From what I could see of the inside of the home it was nicely laid out and well-kept.

Eventually he found an envelope. "That's her address," he said. "I'll write down the number, too." He added it to the back of the envelope and handed it to me, then sighed. "I hope Ellie's OK. A baby? It's heard to get my head around."

"Well, thanks for your time," I told him. This time I meant it. Here was a father who couldn't figure out where he went wrong, but he did care for his daughters.

"If you find her, tell her to give us a call," he added, standing in the doorway and watching me get back on my bike. "We may not be able to do much for her, but we'd like to meet our grandson."

"Sure." I took off again, down the road, heading back to the town. Before I contacted Jaclyn Cleary, I wanted to talk to her mother.

The laundromat wasn't hard to find. It was fairly empty this time of day. A thin woman with a drawn face and stringy brownish hair sat at the counter, staring out into the street.

I approached her immediately. "Mrs. Cleary?"

She looked up and forced her eyes to focus on me. "Yes. Do I know you?"

I'd decided to be completely straightforward with her. She struck me as the type of person who'd be confused by anything more convoluted. "My name is Gregory House. I'm a doctor in Princeton and I examined your grandson about two weeks ago. Eleanor brought him to our clinic."

I could see her process this information. "Ellie has a baby?"

"Yes, a boy, Christopher. I believe she and Peter Giordano are married and that Peter is the father," I told her.

"Oh!" She covered her mouth with her hand.

"I need to find them, but no one here in town seems to know where they are," I went on. "Your husband said you haven't heard from Ellie." I waited to see whether she'd confirm or deny that. It was still possible she'd heard from her daughter, and just not told her husband. 

She shook her head. "Not since she ran off."

"Was there anywhere you think she might have gone? Any other relatives who'd help her?" I knew I should have asked her husband that, too, but I'd just thought of it.

"No. At least I don't think so."

"Well, if you hear from her, or from anyone who's seen her, please call me," I said. "Your husband gave me Jaclyn's address and number, and I'll check with her, too."

Mrs. Cleary nodded. "Maybe she contacted Jackie."

"I did have one other question, Mrs. Cleary. Can you tell me whether anyone in your family suffered from any diseases? Things like hemophilia or cystic fibrosis?"

"No," she said.

"And you, your husband and daughters are all well?"

"Yes. I guess one thing we've always had was good health."

I couldn't think of anything else to ask her, so I thanked her and left her to deal with a customer who was complaining because her clothes still weren't dry after an hour in the dryer.

Before I got on my bike, I looked up and down the street, wondering if there was anything else I could learn in Dorsey before heading home. I hadn't gotten any closer to finding Ellie and the baby, but I'd learned a lot about the families that she and Petey came from. How that fit into my investigation, I wasn't sure. I decided it was time to head home. I'd done enough walking and talking for the day. It was time to let Google do some for me.

As I got closer to Princeton I hit some traffic and had to slow down. When I did, I let my mind wonder through what I'd been told and had observed. My first impression of Nina Giordano hadn't changed. She was beautiful even when she didn't smile. Her sister Jess was more observant. Some might consider her pretty in her own way, but compared to her sister, she faded into the background. The two of them tried to pretend that they were close, but there was an underlying antagonism between them. I wondered what had caused that.

Their father was another story. People think I'm cold and egotistical, yes, and dismissive of others, but Peter Giordano Senior? He was even more of a bully. He certainly didn't think much of his son. In fact, noone I'd talked to had a kind word for Petey. I'm sure he was as much of a disappointment to his father as Ellie and Jaclyn were to their parents. I could relate to that.

I stopped for some Chinese take-out for dinner and while I waited for them to bring the paper bag filled with little white boxes, I turned my thoughts to the Clearys.

At first Eleanor's father struck me as a pathetic loser. But it was obvious he'd tried to do well by his family. He hadn't given up, not entirely. I think he'd hoped his daughters would appreciate all that he'd tried to do for them even when he failed, but that hadn't happened. Was he depressed? Being as well acquainted with that condition, I'd say he was. Still, he loved his family and showed much more concern for Ellie and the baby than the Giordanos had.

His wife seemed very like him on the surface. I wondered if there was more passion deep down, passion that had been drummed out of her by circumstances. She, too, cared about her daughters. Yet neither she nor Mr. Cleary had made any effort to find Ellie. I didn't usually give people the benefit of the doubt, but maybe in this case there were reasons for that, reasons I didn't know.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

The girl behind the counter at the Chinese take-out place handed me my food and I paid her and left. Stowing it in a compartment I'd added to the bike to carry packages, I continued on home, beginning to salivate at the thought of the meal I planned.

A half hour later I was ensconced on my couch, making my way through soup, dumplings, and the best Hunan chicken on the Eastern seaboard. I flicked on the TV, but let my mind continue to plan my next moves. When I'd had enough to eat for a while, I took some of the containers to the kitchen and picked up the phone, pulling out the envelope that Mr. Cleary gave me. 

Jaclyn Cleary didn't answer her phone. Her father had said she was getting by with waitressing jobs and it was possible she was at work. I didn't want to leave a message. She didn't know me from Adam, and probably wouldn't return the call from a strange man no matter what I claimed. I'd have to wait to call her again in the morning.

It had been a long day. I guess I was pretty tired because I fell asleep without the usual tossing and turning. I'm sure my mind continued to work during the night, but it hadn't come up with anything new by morning.

I had to make an appearance at the hospital. Staying away for two days in a row was bound to set the vigilantes after me. I was sure my team didn't have a new patient, since no one had tried to call me the day before, so instead of going to my own office, I headed straight for Wilson's. Among other things, it would forestall his usual panic moves when he didn't know where I was or what I was up to.

"Ever been to Dorsey?" I asked, barging into his office.

It took him a second to register that I was there, let alone what I'd asked.

"I don't even know where that is," he said, shaking his head.

"Small town on the Delaware. Run by a man named Giordano."

"House, are you still trying to find that baby?" He'd recognized the last name.

I'd made the mistake of mentioning Christopher to him at one point, so of course he decided it was my newest obsession. As if. "Neither he nor his parents are there," I said, summing up all I'd learned the day before in one succinct and grammatically correct sentence.

"So why are you asking about the town?"

It was so easy to confuse my friend. I shrugged. "No real reason. It was just a good opening line."

"House, I realize you've got an intriguing medical puzzle to solve, but there's nothing I can do to help."

"It's not just the medical puzzle," I protested. "I really care about them." As I said it, I knew I'd never convince him.

"House, I'm busy," he said making a point of looking at the stack of files on his desk.

He should know by now that dismissing me was not going to work. "It might interest you to know that Christopher has three gorgeous aunts." Well, one that I knew of, and another who wasn't bad. I had no idea what Jaclyn looked like.

"And that's supposed to pique my curiosity?"

"Have you sworn off gorgeous women now?" I asked.

"House, go annoy someone else for a change," he demanded.

Obviously he wasn't going to say anything that would trigger my brain into connecting the dots. "Don't say I didn't offer," I told him as I exited his office. I walked next door to mine, deciding what my next step would be. Certainly, I could call Jaclyn again, find out what information she possessed.

I leaned back in my desk chair and dialed her number. Her phone rang twice before a groggy-sounding female answered. "Hello?"

Obviously, like her father, she worked evenings and slept during the day.

"Is this Jaclyn Cleary?" I asked to make sure I wasn't wasting my time talking to someone else.

"Yes. And I don't want any."

I could tell she was about to hang up. "Wait. I'm calling about Ellie. And Christopher." I figured that if she recognized the baby's name, she knew her sister was now a mother, and there was more of a chance that she knew where they were.

"What...what about them? Oh, God, has something happened?"

Bingo! "No. At least not as of two weeks ago. Jackie, I'm a doctor in Princeton, New Jersey and I examined the baby back then, but I need to follow-up and I don't know where to find them." Maybe if I didn't tell her that her sister ran off with the baby she'd be more forthcoming.

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" she asked.

"Now why would I do that?" I asked. "Is Eleanor hiding from someone? You can ask her about her visit to the clinic at Princeton Plainsboro, if you don't believe me."

She was quiet while she considered that. "Why are you looking for them?" she asked.

"Because Christopher is sick and I still want to find out what's wrong with him."

"How...how did you find me?"

"I spoke to your parents yesterday," I replied.

"And you told them about the baby? You had no right to do that!"

"It was the only way to get their help," I said. "They're concerned about your sister and about their grandson. Which is more than I can say for Peter Giordano."

"Where is Petey?" she asked. "Ellie hasn't heard from him in a couple of months."

"I have no idea where he is, I meant his father. He and Petey's sisters don't seem to care about him or anyone else for that matter."

"All right. Um, let me talk to Ellie and see what she wants to do. What was your name again?" she asked."

"Gregory House. Dr. House. I think she'll remember me."

"I can't promise you anything," Jaclyn said. "All I can do is ask Ellie to call you, or whether she wants me to call you for her."

I began to agree, but then realized, that I wanted to prove to myself that I really cared about this baby, and not just figure out what was wrong with him, so I told her, "If she won't talk to me, please tell her to get medical help for Christopher."

We left it at that. I'd just closed the connection when my phone rang. Was it Jaclyn calling back already? But the caller ID showed a New Jersey number and the word 'unknown'. Hoping that it was one of the people I'd talked to in Dorsey, I answered with a curt 'House'. If it was someone wanting to talk specifically to me, they'd know they'd reached me. And if it was one of those annoying telemarketers, they could make whatever they wanted from it.

"Dr. House, I'm glad I caught you!" I recognized Nina's voice. It hadn't just been her gorgeous face and figure I'd paid attention to.

"How can I help you, Miss Giordano?" I asked.

"It's how I can help you," she said. "I have a few ideas about where my brother is."

I didn't want to stop her, even though, based on my conversation with Jaclyn, Petey wasn't anywhere near his wife and son. "Go on." There was always the possibility that he knew where they were.

"Our grandparents had a cabin in the Poconos," she said. "We used to spend part of every summer there when we were kids. They're gone now, but they left the cabin for us to use any time we wanted."

"And you think Petey went there?"

"He always liked it there better than Jess and I did," she said. "He could stay there for weeks, months even, without anyone knowing, and he wouldn't need very much in the way of cash."

"Would you be able to take me there?" I asked.

"I can give you directions," she offered instead. "I do have a business to run, you know."

"Of course." Too bad she couldn't see my eye roll.

But maybe she sensed my attitude. She sighed. "OK, I guess I can take an afternoon off and take you."

"How does tomorrow work?" I asked. The sooner the better.

"I'll see what I can arrange and call you in the morning."

It was the most I could expect. Then again, I'd have to come up with an excuse to take off again myself. Something to think about the rest of the day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

By morning, the only excuses I'd come up with for leaving two hours after I'd arrived at the hospital were the fact that my team didn't have a new patient, and an imaginary phone call about an imaginary patient in Dorsey that needed my expert help. Stat. Amazingly, everyone bought it.

It was another beautiful day, so I took the bike again. I had a feeling Nina would be doing the driving out to the cabin she'd mentioned in her call, anyway. I hadn't heard back from Jaclyn Cleary or from Ellie, and I was concerned I might miss a call, but Jackie had my cell phone number, so it was good.

I reached Dorsey at one and parked in front of Nina's dress shop. Walking in, I caused every woman there, customers and salesgirls alike, to stop what they were doing and stare at me.

"I guess you don't get many men in here," I told Nina, who'd come forward to greet me.

"Certainly not in the middle of the day," she replied. "Occasionally, on the weekend, one of the women will drag along a husband or boyfriend for their opinion on their selections."

I nodded, not at all interested in the operation or clientèle of her shop. At the same time, I noticed her sister lurking in the background, watching us.

Nina noticed the shift of my gaze. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Jess to come with us."

"Don't trust yourself alone with me?" I asked with a smirk. But I didn't even try to hide my disappointment.

"Not at all!" she protested.

I didn't believe it for a minute.

As much as I would have preferred some alone time with Nina, I couldn't really refuse to have her sister come along. So the three of us got into Nina's BMW, with Nina driving. I was riding shotgun, and Jess sat in the back like some latter-day chaperon.

We drove along the Delaware River as far north as the Delaware Water Gap, on the New jersey-Pennsylvania border where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. We took I-80 across the river into Pennsylvania. If I was the type to appreciate the scenery, it might have been an enjoyable trip. Instead, I peppered the two women with questions about their brother. I'd been curious about how wild he'd been. Based on the attitudes towards him by his own family and Ellie's, I expected that he'd done his share of hell-raising in school.

"Oh, no. Petey was always an A student. He played in the school band, that is when he wasn't practicing football," Nina bragged.

"And don't forget how he helped Dad organize the hardware store inventory," Jess added.

Picturing the hardware store from my visit the week before, it didn't seem organized to me, but I wasn't going to interrupt.

"He would have been valedictorian of his class except for an exchange student from Japan," Nina said. "But that didn't bother Petey."

"The bartender at Boomers said he had a way with women," I prodded.

Jess laughed. "It was more that they were after him than that he pursued any of them. Besides everything else, our brother is a good-looking guy."

"I don't doubt it," I said. But I was still wondering what had changed, and when. And also why. Was he suffering from the same ailment as Christopher?

We soon left the Interstate not far from Stroudsburg, taking a winding road into the mountains. We drove past hotels and resorts whose glory days were long ago. A few newer skiing complexes still seemed to be thriving, but not this time of year. Other places advertised fishing and hiking, activities I'd avoided for many years. But it looked like they had plenty of takers.

At the end of a gravel lane we finally arrived at a small cabin. There was no sign of life, so maybe this trip had been in vain. Still, the three of us got out and approached the building. The door was locked, but Nina produced a key and opened it.

Inside was a large room, part living room furnished with comfortable chairs and a couch, and part kitchen. "There are three bedrooms, two down here and one up in the loft," Nina said.

I walked over to examine a coffeepot on the stove. It was warm to the touch. A single plate and mug sat on the dish drainer, and a pot was soaking in the sink. "Someone's been here recently."

Nina nodded. "But he's gone now."

"Maybe if we wait he'll come back," Jess suggested. "He can't have been gone long."

"Check the bedrooms to see whether he's left anything behind," I told her, and she nodded and went right away to do that, starting on the main floor, then ascending the stairway to the loft.

When she returned, she shook her head. "Nothing. Guess he's gone. We should have come this morning!"

"Nothing we can do about it now," Nina said.

"Didn't you say there were other places he might go?" I asked, trying to mask my disappointment.

"This was the most likely, but yes. His best friend in high school, Jerry Fields, lives in Philly now. Petey may have gone there or at least talked to him."

"Do you know how to get in touch with Jerry?"

Nina hesitated, but then shook her head. "That's another reason I didn't suggest him before."

Jess piped up. "He's in commercial real estate sales. Maybe we can find contact information for him online."

A phone rang. I knew it wasn't mine, since I'd assigned ringtones to anyone who had my number. I looked around for any sign of a land phone, but Jess pulled a cell from her pants pocket. Glancing at the screen, she said, "It's Dad." She rolled her eyes but answered anyway. "Hello."

Even standing ten feet away I could hear Giordano's voice booming, "Where the hell are you? No one knows where you or your sister got to!"

Jess seemed to think quickly. "It was such a beautiful day, we decided to take a drive into the country."

If anything, Giordano's voice became even louder, "Well, get back here right away!"

"Why?" Jess asked. "Has something happened?"

"Something doesn't have to happen for me to want the two of you here in Dorsey," he replied. "How long will it take you?"

"We can be back within an hour if we don't hit traffic," she said in a placating voice. "We're on our way."

"I'll meet you at the dress shop."

"OK," she agreed meekly.

As we left the cabin, Nina locked up, and we got back into the car, I wondered about several things. Why had Giordano called Jess rather than Nina? Why was he so upset that they'd taken off for a few hours? And what would happen when they showed up with me in tow?

We sped back down the gravel road and then toward the Interstate, I also wondered what else I could do to track down Junior, Ellie and the baby. Time was ticking by and I had no idea whether the baby was getting worse.

As we sped eastward, I knew I needed answers to at least some of my questions. So, in as conversational a tone as I could muster, I said, "Your father didn't sound pleased that the two of you left Dorsey." Then I sat back and waited to see who would explain it.

"He likes us to stay close to home," Nina said.

"Or at least let him know when we leave," her sister added.

"He was worried about you?" I asked.

"We _are_ his daughters," Jess said.

"But he couldn't care less about Petey or about his grandson," I stated.

There was silence for a good five minutes. I guess they were each wondering how much to tell me, a stranger who asked too many questions.

It was Nina who broke first. "Dad became more...obsessed with our safety after our mother died."

"Yours, but not Petey's."

"I think at first he even hated Petey," Jess admitted. "He was driving, after all. He'd just gotten his learners permit. Nina and I were injured slightly, and Mom..." Jess' voice broke. "Petey didn't have a scratch on him."

Now that explained a lot, although not everything. "Did Petey change after that?"

"Not right away," Jess said. "For a while he bent over backwards to please Dad. But it was no use, and by the time he graduated high school, he realized that Dad would never forgive him."

"So he decided that it didn't matter anymore," Nina picked up the tale. "He started doing things he knew would infuriate Dad."

I nodded. I could relate to how Petey reacted to his father's disapproval. How many times did I do things just because I knew my father would find out about it? Sure, I knew he'd retaliate, punish me in any way he could, but he would have found a reason to do that anyway, so why not make a game of it?

"How do we explain why Dr. House is with us to Dad?" Jess asked her sister as she exited the Interstate on the Jersey side.

After a moments hesitation Nina said, "We can say that you and he hit it off the other day, but I wouldn't let you go off with him without me to escort you."

"I'm not sixteen years old!" Jess exclaimed. "Besides, I think Dr, House is more interested in you than in me."

"If you hadn't noticed I'm sitting right here," I reminded them.

"Isn't it every guy's dream to hear what women have to say when they talk about him?" Jess remarked.

I turned around to see whether she was smirking at me, but her expression was more amused.

"Well, let's just get our story straight before we reach Dorsey," Nina said.


	7. Chapter 7

_**As you may know, the ability to reply directly to reviews on this site has been nonexistent for a while. Thank you for your reviews and I will reply when I can. Meanwhile, here's the next chapter.**_

**Chapter 7. **

We settled on the first idea, even though neither Jess nor I was happy about it. It was a good thing we did, because when we pulled up in front of the shop, Giordano was waiting for us, and his first question was, "What's he doing with you?"

Jess acted like a child who knew she'd done something wrong and been found out. She wasn't exactly ashamed, rather apologetic. "Dr. House intrigued me, but Nina wouldn't let me go off with him alone."

Giordano nodded as if he bought the lie. "Next time you leave town, let me know, capece?"

"Yes, Dad," she said, "I...I will. It's just, well, I didn't think you'd let me go."

But he was finished listening to her excuses. "And you!" he pointed a finger less than a foot from my face. "Stay away from my daughters, ya hear?"

I thought of protesting, of vowing my undying love for Jess and determination to spend the rest of my life with her, but I knew that was going way too far. "Yes, sir," I agreed, but when he turned next to Nina, I winked at the girls.

"Nina, thank you for staying close to Jess, but you should have called me," he chastised her.

Couldn't he compliment anyone without throwing in a zinger? I know, you're wondering how I can complain about someone else doing what I did habitually, but you have to realize, I'm trying to change. Really I am. And seeing someone act like Giordano was acting, made me understand on a new level how my behavior affected those around me.

"There wasn't time," Nina said.

"Well, you're both back now," Giordano said. "If you'll excuse us, doctor, my daughters and I have some things to talk about. I'm sure you'll understand." He turned his back on me and ushered his daughters inside the dress shop.

I watched them go, got on my bike and rode off. I'd learned a lot, but was I any closer to finding Ellie and Christopher, or even Petey? I wasn't sure.

I hadn't traveled more than two or three miles when my phone rang. I thought of letting it go to voice mail. It was probably my team looking for me, or even worse, Cuddy or Wilson. But there was also a possibility that it was one of the Clearys, so I pulled over to the side of the road and answered it. And I was glad I did.

"Dr. House? This is Jaclyn Cleary," the caller said.

"Did you talk to your sister?" I asked, getting right to the point.

"Yes, I did. She asked me to tell you that she's taken Chris to another clinic. They think it's just some kind of allergy."

"Allergy? Are they out of their minds?" I bellowed, then caught myself. "An allergy might cause his rash and difficulty breathing, but not the lack of coordination. Even an ear infection wouldn't have such severe symptoms. Please, please ask Ellie to call me, or better yet, to bring Christopher back to Princeton." I'm not prone to begging but in this instance, I thought it was necessary. "If they just treat this as an allergy, he could get much worse."

I could almost hear her mind considering what I'd said. "OK, Dr. House. I'll give her your message. But are you sure you're not being an alarmist?"

"If you knew me, you'd realize that's not my style," I said. "One more thing, has Ellie heard from Petey?" Finding him had nothing to do with Christopher's case, but I'd become curious about all the players in this little drama. And it was possible that, if this turned out to be a genetic disease, we'd need to do some testing on both the baby's mother and father.

"No. She hasn't heard from him in a few months," Jaclyn said. "He just took off one day and didn't come back."

"OK. Thanks. And thanks for calling. Let me know what Ellie decides," I said ending the call. I just hoped the young mother had enough brains to understand my message.

By the time I reached Princeton I'd decided to go straight to my apartment. My only stop was to pick up a pizza and a six-pack of Pauli Girl at Dino's. I managed to get the box inside without any of the cheese sticking to the underside of the lid. Foregoing a plate, I just opened the box on the table in front of my couch. Popping the top of one of the beer cans, I settled back for my dinner.

I couldn't wait for Jaclyn or her sister to call me back. I guess I'd struck out with the Giordanos. Neither Nina nor Jess would help me any more now that their father had laid down the law. Too bad, because the more time I spent with Nina Giordano, the more I was attracted to her. But that left me to my own devices.

What was the name of Petey's friend, the one she mentioned who lived in Philly? Something with a 'J'. Johnny? No, Jerry. Jerry Fields, that's it. I dropped my half eaten pizza slice back in the box and went to get my laptop. Ten minutes of searching showed half a dozen people with that name in the Philly area if you included all the Geralds and Jeromes, but there was only one listing for a real estate agent by that name.

I called the number listed, but all I got was his voice mail. I debated what to say and settled for, "Hi, this is Greg House, Petey Giordano told me I could call you. I'm looking for an office in Center City." I left my number, and now there was one more person I was waiting to hear back from.

Nothing to do but finish my pizza, watch a little TV, and hit the sack. I expected to dream about Nina Giordano, and even if it might never happen, I would have welcomed that dream. Instead, Eleanor Cleary Giordano's thin face and hollow eyes haunted my dreams. It must have been the pepperoni.

In the morning, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for work. I did still have a job. It was always possible that the tedium of it would prompt me to find another approach for my search. Stranger things have happened.

But not that day. Cuddy came up with a case for us that a third-year medical student could solve. We had the patient diagnosed by two in the afternoon. It would have been sooner, but when she gave me the case, she insisted that Spiegel in cardiology had ruled out any heart problems. It may not have been particularly noticeable, but the damage to a heart valve was a vital clue to the fundamental problem.

I returned to my office and checked my messages, hoping I'd missed one. Well, I hadn't received one message, I'd received three, one from Jaclyn asking me to call her sister and leaving a number, another from Jerry Fields saying simply that he had several properties to show me, and last, but most surprising, a message from Nina Giordano just asking me to call.


	8. Chapter 8

_**As you may know, the ability to reply directly to reviews on this site has been nonexistent for a while. Thank you for your reviews and I will reply when I can. Meanwhile, here's the next chapter.**_

**Chapter 8.**

I started with Ellie, of course. She answered on the second ring. "Dr. House, thanks for calling."

"Your sister tells me that the doctors you took Christopher to have decided he's just suffering from allergies."

"She said you don't believe it," Ellie replied.

"No, I don't. That wouldn't explain all of the symptoms I saw, and that was without testing him," I said. "Where are you? Can you bring him back to PPTH?"

"I...I'd rather not," she said.

"What are you afraid of?" I asked.

"I don't want my husband to find us," she said.

"Petey? What did he do?" Now that was more than curious. "Ellie, no one seems to know where he is, and I certainly can't tell him where you are," I said.

She seemed to hesitate. "How do I know I can trust you? He could be there with you, using you to get to me."

"Ellie, I promise you. I haven't seen Petey. I don't know where he is." I wasn't going to tell her that I was doing all I could to find him. "My main concern is you and your son."

"And you're sure it isn't just allergies?"

"I think he has some sort of hereditary condition, but I can't be sure unless I examine him," I told her. "If you won't come here, is there somewhere I can see him, a way I can get some blood and other samples?"

She hesitated again. "If you think it's necessary."

"I do."

"And Petey isn't in Dorsey?" she asked. It was a strange question, but I guessed she had her reasons.

"I'm sure. His family hasn't seen him and has no idea where he is."

"Do you know where my parents live?" she asked.

"Yes. That's where I talked to your father," I replied.

"Oh!"

"He and your mother are concerned about you, and very much want to meet their grandson," I told her.

"You spoke to my mother, too?"

"Yes."

"And Petey's family? His father? His sisters?"

"All of the above," I replied. "They're not as concerned."

"I doubt Mr. Giordano is concerned at all, about me and Christopher, or even about Petey."

"You're right." But I had to be honest with her. "Unfortunately, if his illness is genetic, we'll need to do some testing of his father's family as well as yours."

"Oh!"

I'd known that wouldn't sit well with her, but it was better that she knew it up front. "What time do you want to meet me?" I asked.

"How about seven thirty, eight o'clock at my parents' place?" she suggested.

"I'll be there," I told her. Calling the others back could wait. Seeing Christopher again was a lot more important.

Once we'd ended the call, I gathered the equipment I'd need to take the preliminary samples from the baby, as well as Eleanor and her parents. I decided to take the car for this trip to Dorsey, and set out at about five. With a stop for dinner at a restaurant I'd passed on my previous trips, I arrived in the small town at seven twenty.

I'd heard of towns where they rolled up the sidewalks at six, but never experienced one. Even Boomers seemed closed. Dorsey was like a tomb. The two traffic lights were still working, although there was no traffic whatsoever. I continued south of town, looking for the entrance to the trailer park. Not that it was hard to find, since there was little else this far from town.

An old Honda was parked outside the Cleary residence. I mounted the three metal stairs to the front door and knocked. Willa Cleary answered.

"We've been expecting you," she said, ushering me into the slightly shabby but comfortable-looking living room. Ellie sat on a flower-print couch, looking thinner and more distraught than when I'd seen her about ten days before. The baby lay in a carrier on the floor at her feet. He was awake, but very quiet.

"My husband had to go to work," Willa said. She looked around as if she was trying to see the place through my eyes. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

I would have liked a beer or even better, a few fingers of bourbon, but under the circumstances I said, "A glass of water would be fine." I leaned down and picked up the baby, then sat in the chair closest to his mother.

"How has he been sleeping?" I asked her just to get her started talking.

"OK," she said. "I mean, he still gets up at least once during the night, but he hasn't been fretful or anything."

"Any changes in his bowel movements?" One of the symptoms she'd reported initially had been bouts of diarrhea.

"The diarrhea isn't as bad," she said. "I've started giving him some baby cereal. Maybe that helped?" She sounded so tentative, so unsure that she was doing the right thing, but that wasn't so unusual in first time mothers.

The baby had seemed slightly dehydrated the last time I saw him. That wasn't as obvious now, so maybe the cereal was working. Scratch celiac disease as the culprit, although I'd really doubted that from the start.

"I'll need to take some samples from the baby, and from you and your parents, too," I said. "I brought the equipment with me," I added indicating the bag I'd carried in.

Willa brought my water and I nodded my thanks. "What time does your husband get back from work?"

She shook her head. "Not until six in the morning," she said.

"Guess I'll have to come back. OK, who's going to be first?" I began taking out vials, needles and swabs, but neither of the women volunteered. "Maybe I'll start with Christopher. You won't mind, will you, young feller?" I asked as I deftly found a vein in his little arm and drew some blood. His little face scrunched up at me and he started to whimper, but not for long. "He's really a good baby," I told Ellie and her mother, although I knew there might be other reasons why he hadn't cried.

Next I ran a stick inside the baby's mouth and put the sample I got in a plastic sample bag. I'd wait on his other tests. "Now are you going to be as brave as little Christopher?" I asked Ellie, handing the baby to his grandmother, and reaching for his mother's arm.

She took a big breath and nodded. Fifteen minutes later I had samples from her and her mother to run through analysis at the hospital.

"Will you be staying here for a while?" I asked Ellie. If she stayed put it would be easier for me to diagnose and treat the baby.

"I told her that might be best," Willa said. "We can help her with Christopher, and maybe she can even get her old job back."

"At Boomer's," I said with a nod. "Good idea. Of course, I wonder how the townspeople will react to seeing you back in Dorsey, and without Petey." I watched her face as she realized that might be a problem. "Especially his sisters and their friends."

"You've met them," she said, staring back at me. "They're OK, really. A little stuck-up, but that's the way they were raised. They always tipped me well even after Petey and I started seeing each other."

"And what do you think of Christopher's grandfather?" I asked.

She couldn't stop the frown that appeared on her face. "He was very mean to Petey, you know. After the car accident, especially."

"So I understand. He held him responsible, didn't he?"

"Full of questions, aren't you?" She looked over at the baby. "I'll admit I've had my own problems with Petey, but his father had no call to be so angry with him. Yeah, he was a new driver, but they were hit from the side by a drunk goin' through a red light."

I felt my eyebrows go up a couple of inches. That was a part of the story that Nina and Jess hadn't mentioned. Did they think Petey could have avoided the accident if he'd been more experienced or a better driver? I decided to get back to what we'd been talking about before we became side-tracked. "I think you could get your old job back if that's what you decide to do. The bartender seemed to think you'd been one of the best waitresses he'd ever had."

"Jake? Really?" Ellie smiled, and some of the weariness in her face seemed to disappear. "It was a good job. Most of the customers were really nice."

"Well, I think I've done all I can here for now," I told her as I finished packing everything up. "Tell your dad I'll be back tomorrow or the next day to get samples from him."

Willa saw me to the door and walked me out. I guessed that she wanted a private word with me. "Christopher's going to be OK, isn't he?" she asked.

"I can't swear to that," I told her honestly. "Not until we know for sure what we're dealing with. But he hasn't gotten any worse than he was when I saw him before, so that's a good sign. Ellie's taking good care of him. She can use your help and your husband's, though."

"Yes, of course."

She'd slipped back inside by the time I'd gotten back in my car and started it up. I just hoped I wasn't making a mistake leaving the baby there and not taking him back to the hospital with me.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you to all who have made this story a favorite or asked for alerts for new chapters. I'm grateful for all the reviews, too, but as you know, the ability to reply directly to reviews on this site is still not working. I've tried to send messages to those who've reviewed, but in a few cases I haven't been able to. Please know how much I appreciate those reviews.

**Chapter 9.**

It was a good thing I'd taken the car because the skies opened up as I drove back to Princeton. I never minded riding the bike in a light rain, but this was a deluge, producing a layer of water on the blacktop of the road. I was happy to have the weight of the car under me.

My wipers worked diligently to keep up with the precipitation. There was little traffic, but still, I slowed down, and breathed a sigh of relief when I finally pulled up to the curb not far from the front door to my building. All thoughts of bringing the samples to the hospital before going home were scrapped. Instead, I carried my bag containing the samples into my apartment and tossed them into the refrigerator for the time being. Morning would be soon enough to submit them to analysis.

The message light was flashing on my answering machine, but I ignored it as I went directly to the bathroom for a towel to dry off my face and hair. I'd gotten drenched in the short distance from the car to the house. I was dripping puddles on the floor and decided to strip off my clothes entirely.

It wasn't until I'd pulled on some dry sweats and grabbed a beer that I listened to my messages. There were two, the first another one from Nina Giordano, wondering why I hadn't called her back. "I talked to Jerry Fields and a few of my brother's other friends. No one's heard from him in months. If you find him, please call. Jess and I are starting to worry." I wondered if that meant I should forget about following up with Jerry about properties in Philly, except it was possible he'd tell me something he'd kept from Petey's sister.

The other call was from my boss, demanding to know where I kept disappearing to. It really was none of her business, but I needed to ensure that I could get away again to continue to treat Christopher. Much as I would have rather speak to Nina, I called Cuddy instead.

"I was called in to consult on a patient in Dorsey," I told her. I didn't even have to stretch the truth much for that one.

"Have you transferred the patient to PPTH?" she demanded.

"That's impossible," I said, but didn't explain further. "I'll have to treat him where he is for now."

"House, what are you trying to pull?" she demanded, always suspicious of my motives. That's one of the reasons our relationship couldn't last.

"I'm not trying to pull anything. I'm trying to diagnose a patient, who'll have to remain in Dorsey, which means I'll have to examine him there."

"You'll have to give me a little more than that," she said. "Your team didn't know anything about any patient."

"That's because I haven't told them. Yet." I decided it might not be a bad idea to include my team in this, or at least some of them. I just had to decide who would be the most help, and not go running to Cuddy. "I brought back some samples and after I get them analyzed in the morning, I'll take Chase back there with me, so don't be surprised if I'm not at the hospital tomorrow afternoon." Chase used to be such a tattle-tale, but now I think I can trust him to keep his Aussie mouth shut. Not so the others.

"I still would prefer that you find a way to bring your patient in," she replied, not ready to let go.

"It's not gonna happen," I told her, and hung up.

I knew I didn't have to call Nina back, but I wanted to. She'd find out soon enough that Ellie and Christopher were back in Dorsey, but I didn't think it was my place to tell her. Instead, I still had some questions about her family, especially after what Ellie told me about the accident that killed Mrs. Giordano.

"I didn't expect you to call back so fast," Nina said. "Did you find Petey?"

"No," I replied. "Listen I know it's probably still difficult to talk about, but can you tell me anything more about your mother's death?"

"Um, what do you want to know? We told you we were in the car and Petey was driving," she said.

"Did he hit another car? A tree?"

"Oh, he didn't hit anything. A truck plowed into us."

That confirmed what Ellie said. "So how can your father blame Petey?" I asked.

"I think he was convinced that an experienced driver would have been able to avoid the accident," Nina explained.

"There had to be something else that would make him doubt Petey's driving ability," I reasoned.

"Honestly, things between them were fine until the accident. I know Dad was mourning Mom and lashing out about losing her. Petey just happened to be a handy whipping boy, but once Dad started, Petey also became the one he took out all his frustration on."

"Did Petey feel at all guilty?" Everything she told me begged for more questions.

"I think he did, in retrospect. I never thought about it at the time. Remember, I'd just lost my mother, and she and I had been very close," Nina confided.

"Well, I'll let you know if I locate Petey," I told her. I hesitated, then dropped my bombshell. "By the way, Ellie and the baby are staying at her parents place. I'll be out to check on Christopher again tomorrow, but first I have to run some tests on samples I got today."

There was silence at the other end of the line for so long I had to prompt, "Nina? Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes. Thanks for telling me. I was just trying to decide whether to offer Ellie any help," she finally said. "I can't speak for Jess, of course."

"I guess I'll leave that up to you. I'm sure it'll be common knowledge pretty soon, but you can decide whether you want to tell your father."

I heard what sounded like a laugh. "Yes, I'm not sure what he'll do when he finds out." She sighed. "Well, I suppose I'll be seeing you again the next time you're in town."

"Probably," I said, hoping it happened and yet not sure where it would lead. "Thanks for checking with Petey's friends."

"It was the least I could do. My brother's been a little wild lately, but he's still my brother and I worry about him. Goodbye, Greg."

"Goodbye." I stared at the phone after the call ended. This was all becoming more complex than it started out to be, and I had no idea where it would end.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you to all who have made this story a favorite or asked for alerts for new chapters. Instead of fixing the ability to reply directly to reviews, the people who maintain the FanFiction site made a change. Now when we click on the URL to reply, we're taken to the private message site. If you have not enabled the ability to get private messages, I cannot reply to you. I will try to reply to as many reviews as I can. A big thank you to everyone who's left one. We writers love to hear from our readers. _

**Chapter 10.**

If they were surprised to see me at the hospital at 8:30 the next morning, no one said anything. I went directly to the pathology labs and set up the tests I wanted on the samples I'd collected from Christopher, his mother and grandmother. Heading to my office, I looked at Wilson's closed door and shrugged. Playing him, or even playing with him, used to be fun. But I'd realized long ago that both he and Cuddy had their own agendas, their own games to play, their own desires to manipulate me. It was no longer enjoyable or even challenging, just a distraction. I'd moved on. Instead I went in search of Chase.

I found him in our conference room, but he wasn't alone. He was talking in low tones with Thirteen about our last case. I decided I could take her into my confidence along with Chase. I didn't think she'd go running to Cuddy about what I was doing.

"I need the two of you to come with me in an hour or two," I said. "Got a patient in Dorsey and I may need some help."

They both looked at me quizzically, then a light seemed to dawn in Thirteen's eyes. "Is this about the baby you treated in the ER a few weeks ago? The one you were trying to find?"

Leave it to her to know about that.

"Christopher Giordano. Age nine months old. Initially he had diarrhea, was listless, didn't cry much."

"That could be any number of things," Chase said.

"He's also prone to ear infections and a runny nose," House added.

"Those are all common in infants," Thirteen pointed out.

I shook my head. "There's something about this kid that just...feels off," I said, for once not able to verbalize what I instinctively felt.

"Why don't you have the mother bring him into the hospital?" Chase asked.

I couldn't tell him it was because I wanted to handle this case my way, didn't want any hospital personnel interfering. They'd just tell me that I always handle cases my own way. Again, I couldn't explain why it was important to leave Christopher with his mother and grandparents. Or that there was more to this than the mystery of his illness.

"I took some blood samples yesterday from the baby and his mother and grandmother," I went on. "Genotyping will take a while, but I want to at least get some preliminary tests done before we go out there again."

"You think it's something genetic?" Thirteen asked. "What about the father and his family? Can you get samples from them, too?"

"Yes, no one knows where the father is, and what was your last question again? Oh, yeah, that's where the two of you come in."

Chase and Thirteen exchanged puzzled looks.

"Christopher's paternal grandfather and his father's two sisters all live in Dorsey. I'll need your help in getting their blood," I told them. I'd fill them in on the Giordanos on the drive to Dorsey. "Right now, I'm going to see what results we have so far. Be ready to leave in about an hour."

I could see they were trying to think of objections, but couldn't come up with anything. Chase shrugged and said, "We'll meet you in the parking garage. Do we need to gather any supplies?"

I gave them a short list, and left.

The lab had very few results for me so far, so I took a seat in a dark out-of-the-way corner to wait. Just short of an hour later, I approached the lab tech again. This time she handed me a few more results, nothing helpful, except that the tests had ruled out the things I'd already doubted.

Chase and Thirteen were on time. We got into my car and I drove off on the now familiar route. I didn't want to give them any preconceived notions about Nina, Jess and their father, or even about Ellie and her parents, so I only told them the basics.

"Christopher's mother, Ellie, comes from Dorsey. That's where her parents still live. She married Peter Giordano, Jr. after the two of them ran off together about a year and a half ago. Petey also grew up in Dorsey. His father owns a lot of the town and his mother died about ten years ago." I paused to let that sink in, then went on. "Petey's no longer with Ellie and the baby. I don't know what happened there, and no one knows where Petey is."

"OK," Chase said. "But you also mentioned two aunts."

"Ah, yes. Nina and Jess. Thirteen, when was the last time you bought a dress?"

"A dress? What does that have to do with anything?" Hadley asked.

"Nina runs the dress shop in Dorsey."

"And you want me to just saunter in there and buy a dress from her?"

"That's the idea," I said.

"And me? What do I do?" Chase asked. "What does the other sister do?"

"The other sister keeps the books for Giordano Sr.'s businesses. Her name is Jess," I told him. "And I wouldn't be surprised if she's a sucker for an accent."

"What do you need to find out from Nina and Jess?" Chase asked, ignoring my comment.

"We need to find their brother. They both claim that they don't know where he is, and that may be true, but there may be something they do know that they don't realize can lead us to Petey. Plus, I wonder if there's a known disease that affects members of their family."

"Did you ask them?" Thirteen asked, then caught herself. "Of course you did, in your own way, but again, you think there's something they may not know they know."

"Right," I said, nodding at her and glad I decided to bring her along.

We'd arrived in Dorsey. I parked near Boomer's and I got out. Chase and Thirteen followed me slowly, looking around as they did.

"This is really a small town," Thirteen said. "It can't be more than a couple of square miles."

"The dress shop is down that way," I said, pointing north along the main street. "Giordano owns more than half the businesses here. Meet me back here in about half an hour, and we'll go tackle Ellie, her father and Christopher," I ordered.

I knew I could rely on them to be discreet as they nosed around. Meanwhile, I entered Boomer's one more time. I had a few more questions for Jake the bartender.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11.**

I wasn't too surprised to find that Jake had a new waitress, or rather, a previous waitress, who'd returned to duty. At this hour of the day, there weren't many customers. Ellie seemed to have slipped right back into taking care of them.

She noticed me come in and sit down at the bar, but didn't come over to talk to me until she'd made sure all of the diners had everything they wanted. Finally, she took the time to approach me and ask, "What did your tests show?"

"Nothing conclusive," I had to tell her. "The genetic tests will tell us more, but they take a while. I just wanted to ask Jake a few questions before I go out to check on Christopher. Will I be able to get samples from your father?"

"Oh!" she said. "My dad's watching the baby this afternoon while I work. But, I'm afraid you're out of luck about Jake. He had a meeting with Mr. Giordano this afternoon. Something about operating hours during the summer."

"Giordano owns Boomer's too?" I asked. I don't know why that surprised me.

"Yeah, well, I guess he owns practically everything around here," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the customers looking her way. "Excuse me. I have to get back to work."

"Go ahead," I told her. I watched for a while as she deftly filled coffee, iced tea and other drinks, cleared empty plates and brought out desserts. Jake had been right. She was a good waitress, smiling pleasantly no matter what the customers demanded.

The hollow-eyed look I'd noticed when I first met her was gone now. Maybe it was knowing that her parents were willing to help her and that she could get her old job back had eased her mind somewhat. She finished with the customers for the time being and returned to ask, "Can I get you anything, Doctor House?"

"A beer will do," I told her.

She went behind the bar and carefully drew me a glass of the Michelob they had on draft, and placed it on a paper coaster in front of me.

"Thanks," I said. "Ellie, when was the last time you saw Petey?"

"A few months ago. I think it bothered him that I spent so much time with the baby, and was always too tired to...," she blushed before going on. "Well, you know."

I nodded. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?"

She shook her head. "I know his friend, Jerry, lives in Philly. And he was talking about some place his grandparents left him. Up in the mountains."

"He's not in either of those places," I told her. "We've already checked. Didn't he have any other friends besides Jerry?"

"Not any good friends. I guess I'm a little worried about him, but Chris is my main concern right now, ya know?"

I nodded. "Yes. Petey will turn up eventually. Frankly, the only reason I want to see him is because he is Christopher's father."

She looked at me with a puzzled frown, so I explained further. "If Christopher has a genetic disease, we need samples from his father and his father's family, too."

"Oh," she said, finally understanding. "I know you met his sisters. Did you take samples from them?"

"Not yet," I replied. "I also talked to Senior. No one here in town will say anything bad about him, but clearly he's not the warmest person or even the best father."

"Actually, he and Petey got along fine until the car accident," she said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I heard."

Some more customers came in, so I let her get back to work. I finished my beer and left a few bucks on the bar, deciding that I could talk to Jake later.

Heading out into the sunny street, I donned my sunglasses and looked right, then left. No sign of Chase or Thirteen, so I guessed they were still on their missions. I started toward the hardware store I'd stopped at the first time I came to Dorsey, and I was just in time to see Chase exiting with Jess Giordano.

Chase saw me and headed my way with her. "I believe you've met my boss," Chase told her when they reached me.

"Yes. Dr. House, back again I see," she said, a funny kind of smile on her face.

I looked at her briefly and then turned back to Chase. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing yet," he said with a frown. "Jess and her father were busy discussing the profit and loss statement of the hardware store."

"How much profit could there be in a small town like this?" I asked.

"People need all sorts of things that our store carries," Jess said, rather defensively. "Problem is the economy in general is in the toilet and shipping costs keep going up. The truckers pass on their increased fuel costs to us, so we have to raise our prices and people don't buy as much."

"Or they go to stores that can absorbed any added costs. Yeah, yeah," I said dismissively.

Jess glared at me. "Doctors can get away with charging whatever they want and the insurance companies pay it."

I shrugged. It wasn't something I ever bothered myself about, but clearly she had. Now was not the time to get into an argument with her about this.

"Have you seen Thirteen?" I asked Chase.

"Not since we split up earlier," he replied.

"Thirteen?" Jess asked with a sneer. "You actually call someone that? It can't really be a name!"

I'd had about enough of Miss Giordano, but I still needed some answers and a sample from her so I ignored the remark. "I need some blood from you and your sister," I said, completely confusing her. "Your father too, but I realize that will be problematic."

"We think Christopher is suffering from a genetic disease and we need to test the closest relatives we can find," Chase explained, hoping that would help her understand.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12.**

"So you want to take my blood?" Jess asked Chase, ignoring me. I could see I'd been right. She was fascinated by his accent, or maybe it was his boyish good looks. Women went for that, right?

Chase nodded. "The sooner the better. Is there somewhere nearby where we can have some privacy to do this?"

"There's a sort of apartment at the back of my sister's dress shop." Jess sighed. "I suppose you'll be able to convince her to give you a sample, too, or Dr. House can." She gave me a strange look that I couldn't begin to interpret. "This way." She started walking towards the shop, certain that we would follow.

I'd been in the shop before. It wasn't as crowded this time, and there was no sign of Nina, or Thirteen, either. We followed Jess straight past the racks of dresses and other clothes. The scent permeating the area was flowery sweet, almost cloying. I was happy when we walked through a doorway into the back of the store where it wasn't so overpowering.

"Nina!" Jess said, although why she should be surprised to find her sister in her office I'll never know. Then she stared at Thirteen. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Thirteen decided not to answer her. She turned to me and said, "Nina's agreed to let me take a blood sample."

I nodded.

Jess asked Chase, "Is she the one you call Thirteen?" at about the same time Nina asked me, "Did you think you needed to bring in reinforcements to get us to cooperate?" She was almost as annoyed as her sister.

I didn't have to explain myself to either of them, and hoped Chase wouldn't bother. I knew Thirteen wouldn't. In fact, she pulled on a pair of gloves and prepared to take Nina's blood. I couldn't resist an attempt at a Bela Lugosi laugh, even though I was sure Chase would roll his eyes. He didn't disappoint. Next, it was Jess' turn.

As Nina rolled down her long-sleeved silk blouse, she asked me, "Have you gotten samples from Ellie's parents?"

"Just Ellie and her mother, so far. And Christopher, of course."

Jess nodded her head. "Jake just told us they're back in town. Ellie and the baby, I mean."

"Yes. I just talked to Ellie over at Boomer's. She's got her old job back," I added.

I was surprised when Jess smiled at that, but then she explained. "She's the best waitress Jake ever had," she said. "It'll be good for business, which will make Dad happy."

So it was just because she was a good waitress and good for the Giordano's business. I should have known she didn't care a fig about Ellie.

"Speaking of Dad," Nina said. "How do you propose to get a blood sample from him?"

"We haven't decided on that yet," Chase answered for me. He was right. I hadn't come up with an approach for the man. I glanced at Thirteen, wondering if he was into gorgeous bisexuals.

"Our next stop is Ellie's father," she said, confused by the look I was giving her.

"He's home with Christopher," I added, mainly to see whether either of his aunts was interested in seeing the baby.

Jess' face was impassive, and Nina suddenly started rushing around. "I've got to get back to work," she said.

Chase nodded. "We won't keep you any longer."

"Nice to meet you," Thirteen said, but none of us believed she meant it. She and Chase gathered up the samples they took and all their equipment and we walked back through the store, out into the now hot street.

We stowed the samples in the cooler in the trunk of my car. I opened the doors, but my passengers wouldn't get into the car until I'd opened all the windows and started up the air conditioner. Once it started to cool down, we closed the windows and took off. I drove south.

"Where are we going?" Thirteen asked. It's true I hadn't fully briefed my minions on the logistics here.

"Ellie and her family live in a mobile home park south of town," I replied. "That's where Pat Cleary and Christopher are."

There were even fewer people out at Lazy Acres than the last times I was there. I chalked it up to temperatures in the low nineties and humidity that might be higher. I parked in front of the Cleary home, and looked to see what Chase and Thirteen's reactions were. They were both curious, but not contemptuous. I led the way up the few steps to the landing in front of the door and knocked.

Mr. Cleary came to the door much faster than the first time I'd visited him. I idly wondered when he was getting any sleep now that he was doing daytime baby-sitting duty.

"Dr. House, I've been expecting you," he said, stepping back so I could enter. He looked curiously at Chase and Thirteen.

"These two are part of my team," I explained. That would have to be enough explanation for their presence.

"All of you, come in." He looked around as we did. I think he was belatedly wondering if the house was neat and clean enough for company, but of course, that wasn't why we were there. "Chris just went down for a nap," he said. "He doesn't seem to sleep for long periods of a time, though."

"Yes, I think that may be a symptom for whatever is wrong with him," I said.

"I'm Remy Hadley," Thirteen told him, holding out a hand to shake his. "And this is Robert Chase. We're both doctors who work for House."

"We're not here for a social call," I said.

"Actually, we're here to get a blood sample from you," Chase said, unpacking everything he needed.

"And we might as well get it over with while the baby's asleep," Thirteen added.

Cleary was wearing a short-sleeve summer shirt. "Which arm do you want?" he asked, quite willing to let them have his blood if it would help find out what was wrong with his grandson. It had taken just a short time for him and his wife to fall in love with the little boy. There was obviously something wrong with him, but he was sweet and loved to be hugged.

Chase took the sample quickly and said, "That's it. Thank you."

Cleary nodded. "Now can I get you some iced tea or lemonade?" he asked, making an attempt to be hospitable.

"Iced tea would be great," Thirteen said. She was curious about the baby and wanted to stick around until he woke up again.

"Yes, I'll have the same," Chase said, making himself comfortable on the couch.

I frowned. "You know this isn't a social visit," I repeated.

"For once we've been invited into our patient's home," Thirteen told him. "Might as well make the most of it."

I had to admit she had a point. I'd been here before and I'd seen the baby, but Chase and Thirteen hadn't. If they were to help me, they needed to see Christopher in person.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13.**

Luckily we soon heard the weak cry from one of the bedrooms. "That's Chris," Cleary said, handing Chase and Thirteen their iced teas, and walking quickly toward the source of the cry.

Thirteen smiled. "It's good that Christopher has the Clearys. I'm not sure I can see his aunts being so concerned about him."

"They were concerned enough that they let us take their blood," Chase pointed out.

I nodded. "It's their father who has no interest in the baby. And maybe Christopher's father. I still think Nina and Jess want to help."

To prove my point there was a knock at the door. I exchanged a look with my minions, glanced toward the hallway down which Cleary had disappeared, then answered the door. I half expected to find Nina on the landing, so it was quite a surprise that it was her sister.

"I...I'd like to meet my nephew," Jess said.

I shrugged and stepped aside for her to enter.

"Mr. Cleary has the baby in the bedroom," Thirteen told her. "He's just waking up."

"Have a seat," I told Jess.

"Is your name really Thirteen?" she asked as she sat down next to Thirteen, then bounced back up when Cleary returned holding the baby.

Jess seemed to forget for the moment that Chase, Thirteen and I were there. She walked to Pat Cleary and Christopher and asked, "May I hold him?"

Cleary studied her a full minute before handing the baby to her.

"He's so tiny," she said, brushing her fingers gently across his right cheek. "He looks a little like my brother."

"He has Petey's coloring," Cleary agreed.

"Hello, Christopher," Jess said. "I'm your Aunt Jessica."

Christopher's eyes focused on her. I'd noticed before that he didn't always focus on the person holding him or talking to him, but something about Jess seemed to draw his eyes.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" she asked, turning her head to look at me.

"There are too many possibilities to be sure," I replied. "It's something he was born with, though. And as I told you before, very probably genetic."

"And the symptoms?"

"Yes, there are all sorts of symptoms. Frequent ear infections, to start. Those are common enough in infants, especially if the ear canals haven't fully formed or expanded. But combined with his listlessness and the stiffness of his joints, occasional rashes, and lack of coordination, they indicate something more serious. He's had some digestion problems as well."

"But you think you can figure out what's causing all that?" she persisted.

"That's what I do. And that's why I keep coming back to this town," I told her. "Did you think it was for my health?"

"I...I thought it was partly because you'd taken a fancy to my sister," Jess said with a smirk.

I left that one alone, knowing she wasn't that far off the mark. But I watched the way she was holding the baby. She cared a lot more than I'd thought initially. She seemed to want our reassurance that Christopher would be OK, but I couldn't guarantee that if I didn't know what was wrong. "Some genetic diseases are treatable, even curable," I said. "But we don't know enough about what's wrong with your nephew to know whether that will be the case."

"You mean there's a possibility that there's nothing you can do for him, even if you find out what's wrong?" Cleary asked.

"I don't want to give anyone false hope," I said.

"What Dr. House means is that there are no guarantees," Thirteen said. "All we can do is find out what it is and treat him."

She bit her lip. "And testing my father and my brother might help you?"

"Jess, do you think you know where Petey is?" Chase asked.

"I...I didn't want to say anything before, but since we got back from the cabin, I've been thinking about the other places he liked to go," she said. She looked at Christopher who'd reached out to touch her face, and she smiled. "Petey loved amusement parks, everything from Great Adventure to Hershey Park. Maybe he went to one of them." She sounded hopeful that what she was telling us would help us find him.

"And what about your father?" I asked.

Jess shook her head. "I'll try to work on him. He tends to listen to me more than to Nina, but like you said, I don't want to give anyone false hope. He seems to have developed a blind spot about Christopher." She handed the baby back to Cleary. "I've gotta go."

"We'll let you know what happens with our tests," Thirteen told her.

"Thanks, Thirteen."

"My name's actually Remy."

"Thanks, Remy."

"You're welcome to come back and visit Christopher again," Cleary told her.

"I'd like that." She walked to the door. "Bye, everyone," she said, and left.

"She was always nice to Ellie," Cleary said, watching Jess go. "I'm not surprised that she cares about Christopher more than any of those other Giordanos."

"Even Nina?" Chase asked.

"Nina? Little Miss Stuck-up? Ellie never called her that, but some of her friends did and it wasn't far off the mark. And she never went out of her way to help anyone that I know of."

I wanted to defend Nina, but all I knew was that she was gorgeous and sexy. I was beginning to get a different picture of the sisters Giordano from Cleary's comments. "Well, thanks for your time," I told him. "We'll leave you to tend to the baby."

Cleary nodded. "Thank you all for taking the time to come out here, and for trying to find out what's wrong with my grandson."

"We'll let you know when we have our results," Thirteen told him.

We left and got back in my car. "Where to now?" Chase asked.

"You guys hungry?" I asked. "Because I'm starving."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14. **

I drove back into town and parked in front of Boomer's. "Time for you to meet Christopher's mother," I told Chase and Thirteen as I got out of the car.

They followed me into the bar and grill. This time I took a table instead of sitting at the bar. Ellie was waiting on a table at the other end of the place but I suddenly realized the man and woman at that table were Giordano and Nina. As I watched, Ellie placed their food in front of them. Giordano said something to her that made her frown, but she excused herself and left to wait on another table.

Eventually she made her way over to us. She handed us menus and I told her, "These are two members of my team, Robert Chase and Remy Hadley." If they were surprised that I used their full names, they didn't show it.

"Have you been out to see Chris?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes, and we got a sample from your father," I told her.

Ellie nodded. "Good."

"Jess Giordano came out to meet Christopher while we were there," I informed her just to see her reaction.

Ellie smiled. "I'm glad."

"What did Senior want?" I indicated the table where he sat with his other daughter.

She shook her head. "He just said the food better be hot."

"Nothing about Christopher?" Chase asked.

"No," she replied.

"What about Nina?" Thirteen asked.

"She didn't say anything, but she keeps staring at me," Ellie said. She sighed and finally asked, "What can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have a coffee," Chase said.

"Same for me," Thirteen added.

"I'd better have the same," I told her. The beer she'd drawn me earlier had been good, but for once I wanted a clear head.

Ellie was back in a couple of minutes with our coffees. "Are you ready to order?" she asked.

We ordered burgers all around, and she took our menus before leaving again. Once she'd turned our orders in, she stopped to talk to a few of the customers, making sure they had everything they wanted. I noticed she avoided the Giordanos. They soon finished their food and stood to leave. I guess when you own the place you don't wait for the bill.

I was surprised when Giordano approached our table with Nina trailing behind. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from my daughters?" he asked.

"I'm sitting here, and you and Nina were in another part of the restaurant," I objected.

"But you sent that one to talk to Jess," he said, indicating Chase. Obviously neither of his daughters had reported to him about the blood draws at Nina's dress shop earlier.

"And your point is?"

"Stay away from my kids, and stay out of my restaurant," he said in his imposing raspy voice.

"I like the food here," I said. "And the service."

"And stay out of my town!" he added, ignoring my comments.

"I'm a doctor and I have a patient here. You can't deny that patient my services," I insisted. "You may think because you own more than half of this town that you get to call all of the shots, but you're mistaken."

"Dad, let's go. We really can't deny service to these people, and we can't force them to leave or stay out of town," Nina said.

He gave her a scathing look, but walked away.

"He can be...difficult," she tried to apologize.

"At least he's allowing Ellie to work here," I said.

Nina smirked. "She's a good waitress and she brings in business, that's all he cares about."

"And you?" Chase asked.

She shook her head. "I've been trying to get him to take an interest in his grandson. Maybe if he met the boy he'd be more likely to help you with your efforts to diagnose him."

"And you?" Thirteen echoed Chase. "Are you planning on meeting him?"

"What?" Nina said it as if the thought had never entered her mind.

"He's here in Dorsey, just down the road," Thirteen pointed out. But she didn't add that Jess had already been out to the Cleary home to meet their nephew.

"I...I'll think about it," Nina said. "I suppose I'll be seeing you all again," she said, and then left.

We watched her go. She was still a gorgeous woman, but my initial attraction to her was rapidly waning. Maybe it was her attitude, or maybe my increasing interest in her nephew that totally trumped any sexual attraction to a woman.

Ellie brought our food and said, "I heard Mr. Giordano."

"You couldn't avoid it."

"Well, he had no right to talk to you like that," she said.

"It doesn't bother us," Chase told her. "Don't let it bother you." He was studying her.

She tried to smile. "Well, enjoy your dinners and let me know if you want anything else. Mr. Giordano may own Boomer's but Jake says you're always welcome here."

"Interesting cast of characters," Thirteen said, watching Ellie walk away. "I can see why you're intrigued by these people."

"I'm not intrigued," I protested. "I just want to find out what's wrong with Christopher."

"We know you better than that," Chase said. "But it doesn't matter why you keep coming back here. We're with you as long as it takes."

I looked at the two of them and smiled. It had been a good decision to bring them in on the case. Aside from the fact that Foreman would have stuck out like a sore thumb in this lily white town, and Taub would have been chasing after Nina, Jess and Ellie by now, I knew Chase and Thirteen could be more discrete than the other two.

"We really should take the baby back to the hospital," Thirteen said.

"Are you going to be the one to convince Ellie of that?" I asked. Then I sighed. I knew she was right. All signs pointed to something seriously wrong with Christopher and we really needed the hospital facilities to thoroughly examine him. "Maybe our tests will give us a good reason to insist on bringing him in."

Thirteen put her fork and napkin down on her plate. "Well, that was good, but I'm stuffed. I guess we're through here for today," she said.

"We'll take all the samples back to the hospital and rush the analyses, then return as soon as possible."

"And what about Petey and Petey's father?" Chase asked. "Do we still need samples from them?"

"It would help, but I think we can manage without them."

We finished with our meal and paid, leaving a big tip for Ellie, and left. I no longer felt the need to talk to Jake. I'd gotten all I could for the day.

We were all quiet on the ride back to Princeton, caught up in our individual thoughts.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15.**

We took our samples directly to the lab at PPTH and sweet-talked the tech into putting a rush on the analysis. Still, the earliest we could hope to have any results was the next morning. Meanwhile, I sent Chase and Thirteen home, and left again, this time for my apartment.

I tried to relax in front of the TV, but was unsuccessful. There were still too many unanswered questions coursing through my brain. And I was afraid that young Christopher Giordano was suffering from a genetic disease that wasn't curable, one where the treatment could be even worse than the disease.

I'd been reluctant to think it, but the more times I saw him, the more certain I was that he was suffering from Hunter Syndrome which interferes with the body's ability to break down and recycle mucopolysaccharides because of an inactive enzyme.

If I was right, the best we could do was palliative treatment of his symptoms. Bone marrow grafts have been used but are extremely dangerous. A synthetic version of the inactive enzyme has been developed and used to treat Hunter Syndrome, but lifelong treatment with Elaprase is needed. Without it, or other treatment, the organs deteriorate, dexterity suffers, and mental retardation develops. But of course, the medication had side effects of its own.

Little Christopher didn't deserve this prognosis, and neither did his mother. So I had to prove that it was something else.

I downed some bourbon and it helped a little. I needed to get some sleep so I could think clearly in the morning when I got the test results. Falling asleep wasn't easy. I kept picturing Ellie's eyes, the way I'd seen them the first time, not today at Boomer's. Finally I drifted off, only to be woken by my phone ringing. I tried to ignore it, but after it stopped for two minutes, it started again. It wasn't going to stop until I answered it, or turned off the ringer.

About to do the latter, I glanced at the caller ID. It was Chase. "This better be good," I said.

"Have you considered Hunter Syndrome?" he asked. It didn't sound any better in his Aussie accent.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't avoid considering it," I told him.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed that he wasn't suggesting something I hadn't thought of myself.

"Actually, I'd be more impressed if you came up with an alternative cause for Christopher's symptoms," I said.

"House, Hunter Syndrome is the most likely," Chase argued. "We have to accept that, confirm it, and start treating the baby."

"And not consider anything else?"

"If we disprove Hunter's, then we can look at any other possibilities."

I sighed. "OK. But we'll have to do some more DNA tests on Christopher, and also on Ellie to confirm Hunter's."

Chase nodded. He knew that the disease was usually genetically transferred from the mother. "Guess we're heading back to Dorsey tomorrow."

"Go get some sleep," I told him. "We'll leave as soon as we get the blood test results."

"All right. Good-night, House."

Knowing what we'd planned seemed to relax me enough that I fell asleep again, and didn't wake until light began to peak through my bedroom drapes.

I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. Splashing water on my face woke me, but my leg was aching and so was my head. I really didn't want to have to tell Ellie and her parents what we suspected. I could have Chase or Thirteen tell them, but I had to be there and witness their reaction.

And then there's the fact that I've been trying to make my life mean something, not to mention how I was being haunted by Ellie's eyes.

Once more I arrived at the hospital earlier than my usual time, and went directly to the lab for the results. Analysis of Christopher's, Ellie's and her mother's blood samples was done, but didn't show anything unusual. The swab I took from Christopher's mouth was another story.

"This will take a while longer," the tech told me. "You know there's no quick way for genotyping."

I told her what we were suspecting and made sure she'd focus on that. But I'd need more samples to completely confirm.

Before I left the labs, Chase and Thirteen arrived and I relayed the results so far.

"Chase says we're going back to Dorsey today," Thirteen said.

"I think we'll have to tell Ellie and her family what we suspect."

"What we suspect?" she asked.

"Didn't Chase tell you that we're both leaning toward Hunter Syndrome?" I asked, looking from one to the other. I don't think I've ever seen Thirteen look so horrified. "We'll tell them, and this time insist on bringing both the baby and Ellie in for additional testing."

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said.

"Why?"

"That's a heavy burden to put on Ellie. She shouldn't have to go through the worry that it's Hunters when it could still be something else," Thirteen said.

"You think I like this? If I could come up with something else, something less serious, I'd be thrilled."

"Well, let's get on the road. Maybe something will come to us during the drive," Chase suggested.

What I was thinking about as we drove out to Dorsey was how I would present our need for her to bring Christopher to the hospital. We arrived in Dorsey at ten thirty in the morning, and went directly to the trailer park.

Ellie was home with her father and Christopher. They told me that Willa had already left for the laundromat.

"What did you find out?" Ellie asked. She was feeding Christopher a bottle and we could see that he was trying to hold it himself. At nine months, he shouldn't have had a problem with it, but his hands kept sliding off the sides.

"There's a possibility that Christopher is suffering from a genetic disease called Hunter Syndrome. We can only confirm that with extensive genetic testing on him, and on you," I told her, keeping my tone as matter-of-fact as possible to prevent alarming her.

Ellie looked at Chase and Thirteen. Gone was the look of alarm on Thirteen's face that appeared when I'd first mentioned my suspicions to her. Instead, she just looked concerned. "You agree with him?" Ellie asked her.

"It's important to get you and your son to the hospital for the kinds of tests we can only do there," Thirteen said. "If he does have this syndrome, the sooner we start treating him, the better."

"So, it's treatable?" Ellie's father asked hopefully.

"There are treatments that have helped children with the disease."

"But not cured them?" he persisted.

Those were good questions and they deserved an honest answer. "They treat the symptoms, but no one's come up with a cure. Yet. We'd be able to relieve some of his problems, and perhaps by the time he's a teenager, someone will have come up with a cure."

"But we have to confirm our diagnosis before we begin treatment," Chase said.

"I can't just pick up and go back to the hospital with him!" Ellie said.

"It's his best chance," Thirteen argued.

At last Ellie nodded her head. "All right." She sighed and looked at Christopher. "I'll do whatever I need to for him."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16.

Ellie packed up the baby's things and said good-bye to her father.

"We'll come see you at the hospital," Pat Cleary said, hugging her before she picked up the baby in his carrier.

We stopped in town so that Ellie could tell her mother we were taking the baby to PPTH. Her mother seemed to realize that it was necessary, but she wasn't happy about it. After another stop at Boomer's to let Jake know that Ellie had to take a couple of days off, and having him reassure her she'd still have her job when she returned, we finally got on the road.

We arrived at the hospital, and I arranged to admit both mother and child and put them in the same room. I sent Chase and Thirteen to tell Foreman and Taub that we had a patient, rather, two. But once Ellie and Christopher were in their room, I left to join my team.

Unfortunately, I encountered Cuddy on the way. "Where have you been?" she demanded.

"I told you. I had a patient in Dorsey."

"Had?"

"The patient is now here in the hospital," I said. "You said I should have him admitted, so I'm sure that makes you happier." I didn't mean to sound sarcastic. It just came out that way.

Cuddy's eyes narrowed. She hadn't really believed I had a patient.

"We're going to do some genetic testing on Christopher, and his mother, too," I told her. "Unfortunately, we think he might have Hunter Syndrome."

The look on her face changed to one of horror. "Oh! Poor kid!"

"So, now can I get back to work?" I asked. For once I had the high moral ground, and I milked it for all it was worth.

"Yes, of course." She walked off shaking her head.

When I finally joined the team, Chase told me, "We finally got the initial genetic results for Christopher from the blood you took before today."

"And?"

"Inconclusive for Hunter Syndrome," he said. "We'll need the more thorough genotyping to be sure, of course. I'll take more samples from the baby and Ellie after we get the next set of results."

I nodded, then looked at Foreman and Taub. "We're still open to other suggestions."

Taub shook his head. "We agree with your diagnosis. It fits."

"Foreman?" I was hoping that his need to have his own say, to refute whatever Chase and I'd come up with, would give him the incentive to suggest an alternative diagnosis.

"If you're sure it's a genetic problem, I'd go with 14q+ syndrome or 1q deletion," he said. "But I really think it's Degenerative Central Nervous System Disease."

Those weren't bad ideas, actually. "We'll check the first two when we get the gene sequence results," I said. "And I guess it can't hurt to test for CNS degenerative disease, too."

"I'll scan his brain and spine," Foreman said, rising to do that immediately.

"He and his mother are just settling in," I said. "Give them a little while, maybe half an hour or so."

He looked at me, surprised by my concern for the comfort of the patient and his mother. "I'll schedule the scans for an hour from now," Foreman said.

I nodded. In some ways it was good that we'd brought them to PPTH. We had access to facilities at the hospital that we couldn't tap in Dorsey. I knew Ellie would be uncomfortable and just hoped we'd be able to come up with a result that wasn't completely devastating for her.

–

Over the rest of the day, we did several more tests on both patients. I was surprised by Taub's reaction when he saw them for the first time, true compassion and a determination to prove one way or the other what was wrong with Christopher.

I began to think about the suggestions that Foreman made. They seemed less likely than Hunter Syndrome, but couldn't be ruled out, not yet. But if it was one of the other genetic diseases, we were back to needing to examine his father and/or grandfather. What had Jess said about Petey? Something about amusement parks. Maybe I should have pursued it.

I needed to talk to Jess again, but that meant going back to Dorsey to find her. I didn't have her phone number and couldn't find it either in the phone book or online. The opportunity to talk to her again came out of the blue when she showed up that evening to see Christopher and visit his mother.

I'd gone to their room to make sure Ellie had everything she and her son needed before I left for the day, and there was Jess, sitting in the visitor's chair, chatting with Ellie.

"Just the person I wanted to see," I said, sliding the door open and stepping into the room.

"Me?" Jess asked in surprise.

"Yes. When you two finish with your gabfest, meet me outside," I told her.

She shrugged and went right back to asking Ellie if there was anything she could bring her. I could see she'd already brought a stuffed animal for Christopher and a bunch of flowers for his mother. I knew none of my staff had them gotten those.

I stood outside watching through the glass wall. Jess had Ellie laughing about something. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen her laugh. Jess wasn't rushing to end her conversation even though she must have been curious about what I wanted. Finally, twenty minutes after I'd asked to talk to her, she exited the room. Before she slid the door closed, I heard her promise to return the next day.

Then she turned to me. "So, what was so important? What did you want to talk to me about?"

"You said that Petey liked amusement parks," I reminded her. "Which was his favorite?"

"Well, we spent a lot of time at Great Adventure when we were younger, mainly because it's not that far away," she replied. "But I thought you didn't really need to find him anymore."

"Aside from being curious as to where he's gone off to, there's still a possibility that whatever's causing Christopher's problems is something that he inherited from his father," I explained.

"You have my blood and Nina's. Won't that tell you what you need to know?"

"Possibly. But if it's something passed down through the male line, your DNA won't show it."

She nodded. "Something to do with what's associated with the X or Y chromosomes," she mused. "I get it."

"We have one diagnosis that seems likely, but haven't been able to prove it," I told her, since she seemed to have more of a grasp of what was going on than anyone else. "One of my team thinks it might be one of two other genetic diseases, and even if their improbable, they haven't been ruled out, either. We can test Christopher's DNA but the results might not be definitive."

Jess thought about it for a full minute. "Petey always wanted to go to Orlando, to Disney and Universal," she finally said. "I wonder if he finally did."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17.**

Amusement parks were not my thing, especially commercial establishments like Disney World and Universal Studios. I like to have fun as much as any kid, and I love the kind of movies they've turned into rides, but the crowds, smells, and noise turn me off. Still, if that's where Petey was, I might make an exception. Or I could send someone else...

I saw Thirteen coming towards us. "Ever been to Orlando?" I asked her.

It was a question she hadn't expected of course. "Why are you asking?"

"It's possible my brother went there," Jess told her.

Thirteen looked from one of us to the other. "So that's where we're going next?"

"Someone will have to go," I told her. "I think I'd better stay here and continue with my tests."

"Send Foreman," Thirteen suggested with a smirk and a glint in her eyes.

I laughed at the thought of Foreman in one of those places. "Yes. Good call. As soon as he finishes setting up the scans he suggested we'll send him off on a little fishing expedition."

When Foreman returned from talking to the technicians in radiology, telling them what he needed, we broke the news to him. By then, Jess had gone home. But I was beginning to rethink what I thought of her. It might be a good idea to encourage her to stick around.

"I've never been to Disney World," Foreman said with a frown. "Wouldn't it be better if you sent someone else?"

"Nah. I really think you'd be best. You wouldn't be distracted by the rides and the food," I argued.

He winced, then groaned, certain there was no way he could get out of it.

"You can leave tomorrow morning," I told him.

"How will I know him when I see him?" he asked.

It was a good question, one I hadn't thought of. Why hadn't I? But I supposed we could get a picture or two from Ellie or Petey's sisters. I might even be able to talk one of them into going with him. "I'll see whether Nina or Jess can go too," I told him.

The more I thought about it, though, the more it bothered me that either of them would be going with him. Maybe I'd been wrong. Maybe I should go myself. With Nina. The thought should have made me feel good, as good as I felt when I thought I'd be going to the Poconos with her, and only her. But somehow it left me a little cold. I guess I was over her before I'd even made a move.

I pulled out my phone and found her number. The phone rang three times on her end before she picked up. "Hello, Dr. House. Have you gotten any results?"

"Mostly negative ones," I told her, surprised a bit that she'd even ask. "I've been thinking of sending one of my staff to look for your brother, but he doesn't know what Petey looks like."

"How do you even know where he might be?"

"Jess suggested that he might have gone to Orlando."

She was quiet a long time. I had to look at my phone to be sure we were still connected. "I hadn't thought of that, but she may be right. He always wanted to go there."

"So, will you do it? Go to Florida with one of my staff?"

"I'm not sure I can get away right now," she hedged. I could picture her biting her lower lip the way I'd see her do many times before.

"Surely, your shop can go on without you for a few days," I argued.

"It isn't that," she said, but didn't elaborate.

"So what is it?"

"Well, you saw my father at lunch the other day. It's hard for me to defy him. Remember when we went to Pennsylvania, how, when we returned, he demanded that we tell him whenever we leave town again? I'd have to let him know I was going and why."

"I'm sure Jess didn't tell him when she came here to see Ellie and Christopher," I argued.

"She did?" Nina sounded very surprised. I guess her sister hadn't told her either.

"Yes, that's when I talked to her about where Petey might be."

"Our father forbade us from seeing him, the baby I mean. Petey, too, I guess," Nina said.

"And you do everything your father says," I replied.

"If I know what's good for me, yes," she said defensively. "You don't know what it's like having a father like we do. When he says 'jump', you jump."

"Believe me, I know what an authoritarian father is like. I guess it never occurred to you to rebel," I argued.

I could almost hear her shrug at the other end of the phone. "I'm not that brave."

"But your sister is?"

"Jess...I think Jess feels that he needs her too much in his business ventures to come down too hard on her when she opposes him. But she still doesn't do it openly," Nina told me. "She's rather circumspect about it."

"Sneaky you mean," I interpreted that.

"Well, yeah, I guess so."

"Would you be willing to give me her phone number?" I asked.

"I guess so, but why do you want to talk to her?"

"To see if she'd be willing to help us look for your brother." By then I was almost convinced that I'd have to go with Jess instead of Foreman.

Finally, she gave me the number, and then said goodbye. I didn't hesitate long before I punched Jess' number in. It rang four times before going to voice mail. I wasn't sure what message I wanted to leave so I just said, "This is Greg House. Call me," and gave her my number in case it didn't come up on her caller ID.

I was just about to give Foreman the good news, or bad, depending on your viewpoint, when my phone rang. It was Jess.

"Is Christopher OK?" she asked.

"For now," I replied.

"Then why did you call?"

"I'm going down to Florida to look for Petey myself, instead of sending Foreman, and I need someone to come with me who knows what Petey looks like," I told her.

"And you want me to go with you?" She sounded incredulous.

"Yes. I do."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18.**

After I finished talking to Jess, I had second thoughts. Or maybe it was third or fourth thoughts. What the hell was I doing, planning to travel to Florida with this young woman I hardly knew, on what might just be a wild goose chase? Granted it might get us answers about what was wrong with Christopher, but what did it have to do with making sure my life had a meaning? I knew what happened when you assumed too much, and that's just what we were doing about Petey. But I couldn't back out now. I closed my eyes tightly and took a few breaths, then stood up and finally went to find Foreman.

He wasn't far away, sitting in the conference room, looking glummer than usual. "Cheer up, you don't have to go anywhere," I told him.

"So how are you going to find Christopher's father?" he asked.

"What, now you're volunteering to go?"

"No! I just..." he stammered.

"It's OK. I'm going instead, with Petey's sister Jess."

"The one who came to see the baby?" he asked.

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"Chase told me about the way she looked at you," Foreman said with a smirk.

"Jess?" What was he talking about?

"I thought you wanted to be here to make sure the team does everything possible to take care of Christopher."

"I have faith that Chase and Thirteen have everything under control," I said pointedly.

"Meaning you don't have faith in me or Taub."

"Should I?" I expected a roll of the eyes instead of an answer and that's just what I got.

Taub walked in at that moment and looked from one of us to the other. "What are you up to now, House?'

"He's decided to go to Florida to look for the errant father," Foreman informed him, but he was watching me.

"I thought you were sending Foreman," Taub said.

"And why should I let him have all the fun? Who wouldn't want to go to Disney World?" I asked, staring back at Foreman.

"He's going with the baby's aunt," Foreman said.

"I assume you mean the aunt who was here to see the baby. Well, she IS rather pretty."

"I hadn't noticed," I said. Seen next to Nina, Jess faded into the woodwork, but I guess, alone, she was kind of a good-looking woman. That wasn't motive enough for what I was going to do, though. In fact, I still wasn't sure what had prompted me to offer to go with her to find Petey.

"Why aren't you home packing?" Thirteen asked Foreman as she joined us, so we had to go through the whole thing all over again.

"You're more intrigued by Jess than Christopher?" she asked me when we'd finished.

"No!" I protested. But maybe that was closer to the truth than Taub's guess that it had something to do with her looks. "You and Chase are in charge of Christopher's case until I get back," I told Thirteen and watched Foreman grimace yet again, and Taub frown. Thirteen smirked at them, then left to give Chase the news.

Meanwhile, I went to let Ellie know my plans. She sat in her hospital bed, holding the baby and talking to him. He seemed to be focused on her face, especially her lips.

"I just talked to Jess," I said. "She and I are going to Florida to try to find Petey."

"Why?" Ellie asked, a puzzled look crossing her face.

"So we can test him."

"But I thought that what's wrong with Christopher was because of my genes," she said, sounding as confused as she must have been.

"Actually, we're still not sure of that. It could still be something he inherited from his father or his father's family," I explained.

"Oh!" she said.

I wondered if she'd been feeling guilty about causing the baby's condition. I never really understood the guilt thing.

"How do you think you'll find him there?" she asked. "I don't remember him having any friends or relatives in Florida."

"Jess says he likes amusement parks," I said.

Her face finally cleared. "Yes. He always has. One thing he'd been looking forward to doing with Chris was to take him to Great Adventure."

"Well we have to make sure Chris makes it to an age where he'll appreciate that," I told her, then decided I still didn't know a lot about what happened to make Petey leave. "Ellie, where were you when Petey left you and the baby?"

"In a motel in Trenton. He'd tried to get a job and couldn't find one that paid more than minimum wage. One day he said he was going to try one of the towns nearby, and he never came back. I found he'd taken some of his clothes and most of our remaining cash." She paused to look at Christopher. "I never saw him again."

"So you went to stay with your sister?" I still hadn't met Jackie, just talked to her on the phone, and I wasn't sure how close the sisters were.

"Yes. I knew she would help me, even if she didn't have much herself," Ellie said. "I spoke to her yesterday and she said she's going to try to come for a visit next weekend."

I nodded. It might be interesting to meet Christopher's other aunt. "I think Jess and I will be leaving tomorrow," I said. "If we can get a flight at such short notice."

"Why do you have to go? Can't you send one of your staff?"

"I thought of that, but I really think it has to be me."

"But what will happen to Chris while you're gone?" Her voice was becoming panicky.

"Thirteen and Chase are in charge while I'm away. They know what to do, and I think you trust them."

Reluctantly she nodded. "And the other two?"

"Foreman's got his own ideas about what's wrong, so I'll let him pursue them. If nothing else, that'll keep him out of mischief."

"Is Foreman prone to mischief?" she wondered aloud.

I fought the urge to laugh. The man didn't have the imagination required for real mischief. "Not really," was all I said. "Taub will do whatever has to be done. You'll be in good hands, you know."

"Yes, I guess so," but she didn't sound too reassured.

"And when Jess and I bring Petey back we'll test him the way we did everyone else."

"OK," she agreed. "Only, I'm not really looking forward to seeing him again."

I hadn't really thought before about how she felt towards her husband. He was Christopher's father, after all. "You may not have to, but I think he'll what to see Chris."

"Then why hasn't he tried to get in touch before this?" she asked. It was a damned good question.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19.**

I briefly thought about telling Cuddy my plan to travel to Florida with Jess Giordano, but decided the less she knew, the better. Instead, I checked with the airlines and found that Jess and I could fly out from Newark the next morning, arriving in Orlando at around eleven A.M. The last-minute tickets were expensive, but what the hell, it was for a good cause.

I called Jess back to let her know what time to meet me at the airport. "I'll be there," she said. That was all. I stared at the phone after she closed the connection.

I had a few hours before I left for the day. The most important thing I could do with the time was to review all of the results we'd gotten so far. The complete genetic testing wasn't finished yet, of course. That took days. But I examined the blood analyses for Chris, his mother, and grandmother. I was interested to see that he had blood type A, whereas Ellie and Willa were both O.

I got up and went to the lab. "Do we have any results on the blood samples from Jess and Nina Giordano?" I asked the tech at the desk.

"I'll check." She typed something into her computer, then printed out a couple of sheets. Handing them to me, she asked. "Anything else?" She sounded a little impatient.

Well I was too. "How about Pat Cleary?" I asked, glancing quickly at the analyses of Chris' aunts' blood. For Ellie to be 'O', she had to inherit 'O' alleles from both her parents, so I expected Pat would be 'O', too, but he could be 'A' or 'B' with 'O' recessive.

She printed one more sheet, handed it to me, and I nodded, walking away.

I read the sheets and reread them. No one seemed to have the same blood type as Christopher. At least no one we'd tested so far. Both of his aunts were AB, and his maternal grandfather was O, as I expected. All the more reason to find Petey, and to test Petey and his father. If Chris got his A type blood from his father, who knew what other genetic traits he got from him.

As I walked back to my office, I saw Foreman sitting in the conference room, deep in thought. I just couldn't let him think too long like that, so I walked in and dropped my cane on the table, breaking the silence and his concentration. "Have you done your scans yet?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "There's a back-up in radiology. I won't be able to do them until this evening. But they'll get done."

"You still think it's Degenerative Central Nervous System Disease?"

"Seems likely to me," he replied.

"Says the neurologist."

"Just because I know a lot about the nervous system and brain doesn't mean I ignore the rest of the body," he protested.

"Yeah, OK. Just let me know what you find. I'll be leaving in the morning with Jessica Giordano, but I'll have my cell phone and a computer with me."

"Better you than me," he said.

"You can say that again!" I walked off, intending to visit Christopher and his mother one more time before I left, but I was waylaid by my boss. Someone had leaked word about my impending trip and she didn't seem too happy about it.

"What are you up to now, House?" she demanded.

"I need to find the baby's daddy," I replied.

"In Florida? How do you know he's there?"

The truth was I didn't. But Jess' reasoning that he was seemed logical to me, and anyway, besides Foreman, who wouldn't want a trip to Orlando? "I hope you don't think I'm going for my own enjoyment," I told her.

"I wouldn't put it past you," she said. "What about the baby? You were intent on treating him yourself up until now."

"I still am. But I think I can trust my team to handle things for a day or two and to keep me informed. That's why they invented cell phones. Now, if you don't mind, I want to take one last look at Christopher before I go home and pack." I started to walk away.

"House," she called after me. I turned to see what new order she had for me. "I hope you find him." I knew she was going to say something else, but changed her mind at the last minute.

I nodded, and continued on to my patient's room.

I wasn't too surprised to find Chase there. He was talking to Ellie and trying to get the baby to laugh by tickling him.

"Dr. House," Ellie said when she caught sight of me. "Dr. Chase has been telling me about some of the tests he and the others will be doing while you're gone."

I looked at Chase, who was smiling more than I'd seen him smile since before the Dibala incident. "I've told Ellie that we can release her and arrange for a place for her to stay while Christopher is here," he said.

"With you?" I asked, beginning to notice what the vibe between them might mean.

Ellie blushed.

"No, with Remy," he said.

"Just as bad an idea," I said.

Ellie was surprised. I'd never refrained from divulging anything private about my staff before, but this time I hesitated. I knew Chase was watching and waiting for me to say something more, but instead I offered an alternative. "The hospital sometimes has rooms available for parents of our more critically-ill children."

Chase nodded. "I'll go check whether there's anything available right now."

"Before you go, there's something you should know about the blood tests," I told him, and then explained the blood type differences.

He nodded. "If he inherited his blood type from his father, and it seems likely, there may be other traits they share."

"That's what I'm thinking. OK, go check on the room for Ellie," I said. "I'll be going home soon, but I'll keep my cell phone on."

"That'll be a first," he said with a smirk. "No, I take that back, what would surprise me is if you'll answer it."

"Just call if anything comes up. I'll answer."

"Will do."

I took one last look at Christopher. He seemed more alert than he'd been, but I attributed that to all the attention he was getting. My team was in and out to examine him, of course, but the nurses had also taken a shine to the baby and came up with all sorts of excuses to visit.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," I promised Ellie. "None of us will give up until we do."


	20. Chapter 20

_I'm traveling, so I never know whether I'll have internet access or not. But I'll continue to post when I can. I know this is a short chapter, but there are longer ones coming up. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!_

**Chapter 20.**

I finally went home to pack. I'd never been to Orlando, and even though I knew a little about the place and all of the theme parks there, I had no idea what to bring. It was bound to be even hotter than New Jersey, and maybe more humid.

Like Petey, I'd always liked amusement parks, but I'd never had much opportunity to visit any when I was younger. Anyway, the thrills they promised tended to disappoint because they were so short-lived. I doubted that the food was particularly good, and I didn't really like crowds. Once more I wondered what I was letting myself in for. And how would we find Petey in that sea of tourists? I hoped Jess would have some ideas.

Finally I just threw a couple of T-shirts into my bag, along with underwear and socks, a toothbrush, and a few other essential items. That would have to do. I was sure there were stores if I needed anything else.

I poured myself some Bourbon and sat down at my piano, hoping that I could just let my mind drift, and maybe come up with some new ideas about what might be ailing Christopher. But none came. Eventually I went to bed. My mind continued to rotate through all of the questions I had, questions with no apparent answers.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I was aware of, the morning light was peaking between the drapes in my bedroom. I forced myself up and straight to the bathroom. After relieving myself, I got into the shower. I've never been able to do the cold water thing, not after the ice baths I was given as punishment as a kid, but the sting of the hot jets of water on my back were enough to wake me and get me moving. Letting the water hit my leg also was a good substitute for a massage. That and a couple of Ibuprofen and I was good to go.

I grabbed the bag I'd packed the night before and headed out to my car. The drive to the airport started out smoothly enough, but then I hit traffic. I didn't reach the airport until about forty-five minutes before my flight. I rushed through ticketing and security and reached the gate just as they started to board.

Jess was waiting anxiously for me. "I thought you'd decided not to come."

"Traffic," I said to explain why I was late.

She nodded but she wasn't smiling. In fact, she seemed annoyed with me. "I hope you're paying for these first class tickets," she said, waving her boarding pass at me as we got in the front of the line.

"You didn't think I was going to ask you to pay, did you?" I asked, although I had considered it.

"I don't want you charging Ellie and her family for your expenses."

That wasn't the answer I expected. "I'd never do that," I said.

Jess looked at me strangely. "I believe you're telling the truth," she said, sounding surprised.

Actually, I was a little surprised myself. But it had never entered my mind to ask the Clearys to pay for anything. In fact, one of the things I'd asked Thirteen to check into was agencies that might pay for Christopher's treatment if he had Hunter's. Ellie and her parents didn't have that kind of money, and I doubted any of them had insurance that would cover it.

We took our seats in first class and sat back for the flight. An attendant was there almost immediately to offer us drinks. Jess ordered orange juice. Orange juice! "We're sitting in first class, the least you could do was order a mimosa!" I exclaimed, but she just laughed.

I watched the other passengers walk past us back to coach and then looked back at Jess.

She was still smiling. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "I think I could get used to this, however." But soon she opened them again. "I have an idea about finding Petey," she announced.

"That's good," I told her. "Because there have got to be hundreds of thousands of tourists in Orlando at any one time."

Jess nodded. "My brother couldn't have had all that much money when he arrived," she said.

"If that's even where he is. OK, we'll assume it is. Ellie said he took most of what they had, but you're right, it wouldn't have lasted long in a place like that." And leave it to Jess Giordano to follow the money.

"So he would have had to find a job." She looked at me to make sure I was following her logic.

"Ri-ight."

"Petey had always refused to work at Boomer's," she went on. "And he was OK with the hardware store, but his real love was cars, machinery, making things go."

I looked at her in disbelief, not at what she was suggesting, but that I hadn't thought of it myself. "You think he may have gotten a job as a mechanic at one of the parks," I guessed.

She grinned, turning her somewhat pretty face into a radiant one. "You got it!"

I nodded. Yes that would help us a lot in tracking him down.

I leaned back to think about it some more, and the next thing I knew we were landing. Since we'd each only brought a carry-on bag, we went directly to the car rental place. I'd come up with a list of motels that seemed a reasonable distance from the parks. No sense staying at the places on the park grounds, which were sure to be filled with families with a gazillion kids.

We drove from the airport into the busy part of Orlando where all the tourist hotels and restaurants were and found a place on a quieter side street. Luckily, they had two rooms available. We took them for one night, although neither of us was sure we'd be able to leave the next day. Our plane tickets were open-ended, so we just had to call the airline once we knew when we'd be ready to fly back home.

We took our things to our rooms, about three doors apart on the second floor of the two-story, old-fashioned motel, and agreed to meet out on the walkway in fifteen minutes. Jess was already there when I arrived, eager to go.

"Let's get some lunch first so we won't have to stop later," I said. I'd spotted a restaurant that didn't look crowded as we turned into the street where the motel was located.

"OK," she agreed.

So we got back into the car and drove over to the restaurant. We could talk about our game plan over lunch.


	21. Chapter 21

We're still traveling, so I never know whether I'll have internet access or not. But I'll continue to post when I can.

**Chapter 21.**

Jess insisted on sitting outside, despite the heat and humidity. At least she picked a table with an umbrella. Service was quick and we soon had menus in front of us.

I ordered a burger with everything but pickles, as well as fries and a coke. It surprised me a little when Jess ordered the same thing. Every time I thought I had this woman figured out, she threw me a curve ball.

Our food came quickly, too. I guess I was hungrier than I thought, or else this was the best burger I'd had in a long time. While we ate, I thought about Jess' reasoning on how to find her brother. It made sense, although it would still be hard. I looked at her and saw she was concentrating on her food, enjoying every bite.

Suddenly I saw a dog approaching her out of nowhere. Before I had a chance to decide what to do about it, she'd reached out her hand, palm down, for the animal to sniff. I don't have much use for dogs, except as objects of my amusement. Cats either for that matter. Jess, on the other hand, was doing fine with this one.

"Ava! Leave that woman alone!" A woman with curly brown hair and big eyes came over to get the hound and apologize. "I'm sorry if she's disturbing you. She's very friendly."

"She's a sweetheart!" Jess said. "Her name is Ava?"

"Yes," the woman said, smiling at Jess. She was rather pretty, especially when she smiled. "And I'm Kathy Glenn. Glennie to my friends."

"Hi Glennie. I'm Jess Giordano."

I noticed that Jess didn't introduce me.

"So, are the two of you here on vacation?" Glennie asked. "A honeymoon maybe?" She smirked.

"No!" we both said emphatically, and she laughed.

I took a good look at the dog. Her big brown eyes reminded me of someone, and then it hit me. Wilson!

The two women were still talking. "We're looking for my brother," Jess explained. "He left New Jersey over four months ago and no one's seen him since."

"What makes you think he's here in Orlando?" Glennie asked.

Jess shrugged. "He's always liked amusement parks and wanted to visit the ones here, but never had a chance to. We think he might be working at Disney or Universal. Do you live here in town?"

"No, actually we're here for a couple of days from Gainesville."

"Who brings a dog to Orlando?" I wondered, but didn't realize I'd said it aloud until both of the women glared at me.

"Where'd you get this clown?" Glennie asked Jess.

"I'm not a clown, although that might not be such a bad job," I told her.

"He's a doctor. He's been treating my nephew at a hospital in New Jersey, trying to find out what's wrong with him, and that's why we need to find Petey," Jess told her.

Glennie smiled. "I work at a hospital, too. I'm a pharmacist." I noticed she hadn't answered my question about the dog, however.

"House thinks the problem is genetic, so we have to test Petey," Jess said. It was a simplistic explanation, but not that far off the mark.

"I've got a friend who works in Personnel at Universal," Glennie said. "I can give her a call for you. Naturally, she can't give me any details, but she can confirm whether or not your brother is employed there."

"Would you?" Jess asked, practically jumping for joy. I rolled my eyes and she turned to me. "It would save us a lot of time, and meanwhile, we can go to Disney World and look for him there," she argued.

I couldn't deny that she was right. Instead I finished my lunch while they exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and who knew what else. Finally, Glennie and her dog left. "Eat up," I told Jess. "Times a-wasting."

After lunch we drove to Disney World. Before we even got into the park we could see that it was as crowded as I expected. We parked in the lot but it was about a gazillion miles from the entry gate. Luckily, there was an open-air trolley that took people from their spot in the parking lot to the ticket booths.

I bought us tickets, silently cursing how much this trip was costing me, and finally we were inside among the noisy, jostling crowd on Main Street USA.

"You're sure he wouldn't be working in one of these shops or restaurants?" I asked, hoping against hope we wouldn't have to go further.

"Only if he couldn't get a job working the mechanicals," she replied. "Come on." She walked down the 'street', weaving her way through the happy families and people in character costumes, toward the castle that was pictured in all the ads for the place.

"Maybe he's Micky. Or Pooh," I said. "We'd never recognize him in one of those get-ups."

Jess hesitated but finally she said, "No, he was never one for dress up. Nina and I tried to get him to play with us, but he never would."

I figured she knew her brother better than I did, so I let it go. The place was huge, though, and there were too many parts to it and so many rides and attractions that Petey could be working on, if our assumptions were even right.

"Let's start with Tomorrowland," Jess suggested. "I realize he might not have a had a choice of what rides he'd be working on, but he always liked space and that sort of thing."

She was beginning to make assumptions based on assumptions, never a good practice, but what could I do about it other then question her guesses periodically.

We spent the next few hours wandering from ride to attraction, from Tomorrowland to Adventureland, stopping occasionally for something to drink or eat, although we both knew it was really to rest my leg. It kept getting hotter and hotter as the day drew on. But by dinnertime we were no closer to finding Petey then when we began.

Jess wasn't ready to give up looking for her brother, even though we'd checked out all of the rides in all of the parts of the park. I watched as she accosted one employee after another, asking whether they knew Peter Giordano.

She looked so dejected when they all said no that I felt the need to offer one spark of hope. "Maybe he's using another name."

I could see she wanted to believe that, but her practical side argued against it. "His social security card is in his name. There's no way he could get a job using another name. It's not as if he knows people who can give him a fake ID."

Of course, I'd already thought about that. "C'mon, let's get something to eat, and then try a few places again. Maybe he's working the night shift."

Now that was something she could cling to. The choices for food weren't very good at the Magic Kingdom, unfortunately. We wound up going to the Liberty Tree Tavern where for a fixed price you got a salad of tossed mixed greens with a strawberry vinaigrette dressing and a platter containing roasted turkey breast, carved beef, and smoked pork loin, with mashed potatoes, vegetables, herb bread stuffing, and macaroni and cheese. Rolls and gravy were also included, not too bad. Oh, and for dessert, they had warm cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream.

I think all that food revived Jess. I know it helped me.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22.**

We resumed our search for Petey. It was getting darker outside and the place was all lit up as if it was Christmas instead of the summer. "Maybe he works on the lighting," I suggested.

"Hmmm," was all she said. But she asked the next park employee she saw, "Where are the controls for all of these lights?"

The man looked at her as if she was crazy. No one asked questions like that in the Magic Kingdom. It was like asking a magician to reveal his secrets.

"I'm looking for my brother and he may be working on them," she tried to explain.

"Is she kidding?" the man asked me.

"Actually, she isn't," I told him. "C'mon, Jess. You don't need this moron. I think I know where they're controlled."

"Wait!" the man said. "I'll take you." He called over another member of the crew to come with us. Who knows what he thought we were up to.

But when we reached the master controls for the lights, Petey wasn't there, and no one had heard of him.

"Is there an employment office?" Jess asked, remembering what the woman with the dog had told us earlier in the day, that people who worked in personnel could confirm or deny whether Petey was employed by the park.

"You're not going to find anyone there this time of day," Moron number one said.

"Come back tomorrow," said Moron two.

"And pay admission fees again? Not on your life," I said. "C'mon Jess, let's go see whether we can find out who's working on the rides."

But before she left the Moron brothers she asked, "Do they work on repairs for the rides in the evenings?"

"Not until after everyone's gone home."

"I guess we'll wait, then," she said.

I was ready to object, but realized she had a point, so we found a bench to sit on and watch the crowds go by. It was amazing, and yet not surprising, that all the kids were still going strong, while their parents were dragging. One man sat down next to us, refusing to go a step further, while his kids demanded, "Just one more ride, Dad!" and "I want one of those giant lollipops!"

"Don't let anyone tell you that it's easy being a single dad," he told us, whether we cared or not.

Jess took pity on him, much to my surprise. "Why don't you sit here a little while and I'll take them on a ride," she offered. "I'll leave it up to you whether you want them to have any more sugar." They were certainly already hyper.

"You're an angel!" the man said. "Yeah, let 'em have the lollipops and anything else they want." He handed her a twenty and turned to the kids. "Now be good for this nice lady."

We watched Jess and the two kids go. "You know she could be a kidnapper or a child molester or something."

"At this point, I'm not sure I care," he said.

But I knew he was lying.

"You're lucky to have a woman like that," he said.

"Oh, we're not together," I insisted. "At least not the way you mean."

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding like he couldn't believe that. He closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep which was fine with me. I wasn't in the mood to make idle conversation with a stranger. I guess I never am.

Forty-five minutes or more later, Jess was back with the man's two midgets. They were much more subdued than when they left, but they were still smiling.

"Dad, she took us on two rides!" the girl said.

"Yeah, and we had frozen juice pops that were way better than lollipops," the boy added.

The man opened his eyes and smiled at Jess. "That was very good of you," he said. "Is there any way I can repay you?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that," she said.

"Well, how long will you be in Orlando? Perhaps I can take you to dinner."

I wondered if he meant just the two of them. He better not expect me to watch the rugrats while he took Jess on a date.

"I'm sorry, but we're here to look for my brother, and when we find him, we're leaving," she said.

"OK. I get it. He said you weren't together," he indicated me. "But he was lying, wasn't he?"

"What?" she said. "No! I mean he wasn't lying. We're not together!"

"Then why won't you have dinner with me?" he looked at the two kids. "You like them, don't you?"

I'd seen men use their dogs to get dates. Come to think of it, I would do it myself if I could get away with it. But using your kids?

But obviously Jess was on to him. "You have great kids. I think you should concentrate on taking care of them and forget about shopping around for a new mother for them."

The man blanched. He stood and told the kids, "Let's go. It's time to go home. You've had enough fun for one day."

"Could you believe that guy?" Jess asked in disgust.

"You act like you're not used to guys hitting on you," I said.

"Well, I...actually, I'm not. When you grow up in the shadow of someone like Nina...It's not that I'm complaining or anything..."

"Yeah, I get it."

"So now what?" she asked as a park worker approached us.

"The park's closing in ten minutes," he told us. 

"What happened to the fireworks? I was waiting for the fireworks over the Cinderella's Castle," I whined.

I noticed how hard Jess was trying not to laugh.

"They don't do that every night any more," he said.

"Darn!" I said, snapping my fingers.

"You're going to have to leave," he said.

"Do the repair guys come in through the same gate we go out?" Jess asked.

I had to smile. She was still thinking ahead. Good for her.

"There's a side entrance near the main gate, but it's just for park workers," he told us.

"Thanks," she said. "C'mon House. Let's go. We have some incoming workers to talk to."

"That might be even better than fireworks," I said sarcastically and she finally laughed.

Everyone was leaving the park. We joined the stream of visitors passing back out through the gates, but instead of taking the shuttle to our car, Jess and I found another bench to one side, near a gate that was clearly marked 'For Staff Only'.

It was amazing how different the place was with all the kids and their adults gone, quiet and dark. Within a half hour, though, a few men, and a couple of women, too, straggled into the park through the staff gate. I was relying on Jess to spot her brother, since all I'd ever seen was a photo of Petey.

We waited for half an hour until it looked like no one else was coming. There was no sign of Petey.

"I hope we have better luck at Universal," Jess said, sighing, standing and stretching. "Let's get back to the motel."

I agreed, and then realized that we'd have to walk all the way out to where the car was parked. This day kept getting worse.


	23. Chapter 23

_Since I thought I'd posted Chapter 22 a few days ago, and realized when I tried to add this one that I hadn't, you get a second chapter today!_

**Chapter 23.**

By the time we reached the rental car, I was ready to collapse. Not only was my thigh throbbing with pain, but my knees were stiffening and my head was ready to explode.

"Dr. House, are you all right?" Jess asked, worry creasing her brow.

I couldn't admit any of my discomfort to her. "Nah, I'm fine," I said, easing myself into the driver's seat. But I couldn't disguise the sigh brought on by being able to sit down.

Jess got in on the other side and sighed as well. "I'm exhausted!"

At least I wasn't the only one. I turned on the GPS and had it lead me back to the motel, parking near the door closest to the stairway to our rooms. Slowly we made our way up to the second floor walkway and parted at Jess' door.

"See you in the morning, Doctor," she said.

I just nodded and used my keycard to enter my room. I flopped on the bed in my clothes without even removing the covers. It wasn't until about half an hour later that I roused myself enough to go to the bathroom, do my thing, wash my hands and face, and then take off the outer layer of clothes before returning to the bed.

The next thing I knew, light was streaming in through the window. I hadn't even closed the curtains the night before. It was also freezing in the room due to an overactive air conditioner. I found a change of clothes in my bag and headed for the bathroom and a hot shower with a detour to turn down the AC.

I was just about ready to leave the room when there was a knock on my door. I opened it on a smiling Jess.

"Guess what?" she asked but didn't give me a chance to answer. "Glennie's friend told her that Petey is working at Universal Islands of Adventure on the day crew."

"So I guess I know where we're going today," I said. I knew that there were two theme parks at Universal and at least we'd narrowed it down to one of them.

"Did you want breakfast before we go or should we eat there?" she asked, but it was obvious she was anxious to get to the park.

"How bad can breakfast be there?" I asked.

"I read that there's a Beverly Hills Boulangerie just inside the gates. And the park opens at nine," she said.

"I guess someone's done their research," I said sarcastically but she just smirked at me. "OK, the sooner we leave, the sooner we get there." I was also hoping that arriving this early we'd be able to park closer to the entrance.

We got into the car and drove to Universal, only to find that there was a parking garage. Once we'd parked in it, though, we also found that there were a series of moving walkways and escalators that took us all the way to the park. How cool was that?

We reached the gate about fifteen minutes after the park opened. By then we were both ready for some coffee and whatever the boulangerie offered, which turned out to be pastries for the most part. I could handle that.

We each picked something out and ordered it along with a large coffee. I knew Jess wasn't going to dawdle over her breakfast, not now when we were so close to finding Petey. But I've never seen a woman down a cruller so fast in my life!

As we were leaving the shop, our unfinished coffees in our hands, we passed two men in park uniforms that indicated they were maintenance crew. Jess turned and approached them to ask, "Do either of you know Peter Giordano?"

They stopped to look at her face and form, and seemed to like what they saw. Then the older of the two said, "I think he's one of the new guys working over on Spidey. But you're not interested in a skinny kid like him, are you?"

I guessed he meant the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. It was supposed to be one of the better rides, possibly the most popular until the introduction of the Harry Potter ride.

Jess rolled her eyes at the man and we walked on towards the ride. Swallowing a sip of her coffee, Jess said, "I already like this place better than Disney."

I was a little surprised, and yet I thought the same thing. The themes for the rides were more the kinds of movies I liked. It just seemed geared toward older kids. Like me.

The line waiting to get onto the Spiderman ride was very long, but that wasn't why we were there. Still, I looked at it, thinking I would have liked to try it. Maybe once we found Petey we'd get our money's worth of thrills.

Jess approached a park worker, who immediately told her to get in line, but she insisted she just wanted to know how to find the service entrance to the ride.

"Look, lady, no one goes in there except park employees," he said in a heavy Jersey accent.

Jess and I looked at each other. We were from Jersey too. "I'm just looking for my brother," she said, exaggerating her own accent. "He works here, but his kid is sick and we haven't been able to get ahold of him, know what I mean?"

Whether it was her sob story, which was pretty accurate, or the accent, so different from her normal mode of speech, or the fact that she was an attractive Jersey woman, he replied, "What's his name?"

"Peter Giordano," she said. "We call him Petey."

"Yeah, new kid. Come to think of it, he said he was from Jersey. I haven't seen him yet today, but if you wait right here, you'll probably see him come in."

So the two of us found a spot in the shade, away from the line of those waiting to ride. It was already heating up and I knew by afternoon my shirt would be sticking to my back as it had the day before. I hoped we'd find Petey soon.

I guess I've always been a people watcher. It's helped me develop my observation skills. "That guy near the front of the line, the one with the ginormous cup of soda in one hand and corn dog in the other? I doubt he'll make it through this ride."

"Huh?" Jess said, her eyes easily locating the man I meant. "Who eats a corn dog for breakfast?"

"He's two days away form a coronary in any event, but a day at a place like this could kill him," I elaborated.

"Maybe you should say something to him," she said, her forehead creasing.

"Fat lot of good that would do," I said. "No, he'll learn the hard way or no way."

She turned to me. "What about all of the other people? Anyone else with impending health problems?"

Was she challenging me? The great diagnostician? I took a deep breath and launched into it. "The woman, trying to get her son to stop running around in circles, has heartburn, but it's not caused by the kid. The teenager right behind her has to pee but doesn't want to leave and lose his place in line..."

"Yeah, even I can see that."

"...And the girl near the end of the line, the one with a faraway look, is hypoglycemic."

"I'll take your word for it," Jess said with a smile.

"You don't believe me?"

"I'll have to. There's no way you can prove it," she said.

"When the teenager wets his pants and the girl faints, you'll have some of your proof," I said smugly.

"OK," she said, laughing, even though she and I knew it wasn't at all funny.

We watched the line move along and more people join it. Suddenly, Jess started and grabbed my arm. "There's Petey!"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24.

Jess was indicating a young man, slim and of medium height. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was struck by his clean-cut good looks and the big smile on his face as he chatted with another shorter man.

"Petey!" Jess called to him and he started. Surprise registered on his face, but it wasn't accompanied by any sense that he'd been discovered where he shouldn't be.

"Jess? What are you doing here?" Petey Giordano said, coming over with his buddy trailing behind. "This isn't usually your kind of place." He glanced at me, but seemed to dismiss my presence.

"We were looking for you," Jess said. She seemed happy to see him, and not just because we'd wanted to find him. "You look good!"

"Why were you looking for me? Has something happened to Father or Nina? And how did you know I'd be here?" The questions came fast and furious.

"No, Father and Nina are fine. It's Christopher," Nina told him. I watched his face to gauge his reaction to his son's name. A fleeting look of concern was all there was. "Petey, there's something wrong with him and the doctors are trying to find out what it is. It may be genetic, so we all have to be tested, especially you."

"Yeah, I guess," Petey said. "It's not just a cold or flu or some kind of kid's disease?"

"No," I said. "It could be life-threatening, and as your sister says, finding out what it is will be the first step in treating him."

"Petey, this is Dr. House, the doctor in charge of Christopher's case," Jess said to introduce me.

"And if it's so serious, what's he doing here with you?" Petey asked.

"I'm here to get a blood sample from you, that's all," I answered for Jess. "You obviously don't care about your kid, but we do. So if there's someplace private I can do this, we'll just get it over with and be on our way, and you can get back to living out your childhood fantasy." I looked around for a suitable place to sample his blood.

"I have to get to work," Petey objected. "Maybe during lunch break."

"When is that?" Jess asked him.

"At twelve thirty," he replied. He sighed. "Meet me here and we'll go to one of the restrooms that the workers are allowed to use." With that he walked away, opening a door behind the ride that I hadn't noticed before. His friend went with him.

"So, what do you want to do while we wait?" I asked Jess.

"We could go on some rides," she said. "These are much more my kind of thing than the sissy rides at Disney!"

Of course, we spent more time waiting on lines than riding the rides, but Jess was right. These were kind of cool. The Harry Potter ride and Spidey lived up to their reputations. I think I actually came off those rides laughing. Although the standing did nothing for my leg, I was in a good enough mood to tolerate the occasional throb and the constant ache.

At noon we found a bench near the rear of the Spiderman ride and waited for Petey. Jess claimed she was tired of the rides, but I knew she said it because she'd learned the day before how much walking and standing I could take. It was getting hotter, too, and she'd picked a bench in the shade.

While we sat there, my phone rang. I knew from the ringtone that it was one of my team. Maybe they had news about Christopher.

"Having fun yet?" Chase asked when I answered.

"As a matter of fact..." I replied.

"Right, so have you found Petey?"

"As a matter of fact..." I repeated.

"Really? So?"

"He's a maintenance worker at Universal Islands of Adventure, working on the Spiderman ride," I said.

"And?"

"We're waiting for him to take his lunch break. We'll get his samples and be back in Princeton tonight or tomorrow."

"Doesn't he want to come back with you and see Chris?" another voice asked.

"Chase, when did you have a sex change? Or at least a voice change."

"House, answer my question," Thirteen demanded.

"He doesn't seem to. Well, it's been fun chatting with you. Gotta go."

"House! Wait! Don't you even want to know why we called?" she asked.

"I presume it was to ask inane questions."

"Christopher's worse," she stated, knowing it would cut through my bullshitting.

"What happened?" I was suddenly serious.

"He was beginning to pay more attention, to hold his head up better, and to focus on anyone who talked to him," Chase began.

"I saw that before I left. I repeat, what happened?"

"He reverted to how he was before," Thirteen finally answered. "And he's whimpering more."

"So the improvement was only temporary," I concluded, my mind pondering what had caused even that temporary change, and why it hadn't lasted.

"Well, you could put it that way."

"But he's no worse than when we first brought him to the hospital?" I asked. "Or when you first saw him in Dorsey?

"We don't think so," Chase said. "But Ellie's freaking out, saying he's worse than ever."

"And you still don't have any more helpful results."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a full minute. "No," Chase finally admitted.

"Well, keep looking," I told him. "We'll be back soon." I closed my phone. When I looked up at Jess I saw dismay all over her face. Of course, she'd been listening to my side of the conversation.

"Is Chris worse?"

I wasn't going to lie to her, at least not much. "He's not any better."

"So why did they call?"

"They wanted to know whether we found Petey," I said. OK, so I lied about not lying.

But Jess had heard my half of the conversation and she wasn't stupid, far from it. "They're concerned about the baby."

I looked down at my Nikes. When I felt I could look her in the eyes again, I lifted my head. "Yeah. He was alert when we left Princeton, but now he's back to being listless and inattentive. Ellie's much more worried."

"We have to tell Petey that," she said. "Maybe it'll convince him that he has to come back with us."

"Do you really think he cares enough to leave his dream job?" I asked.

She grimaced just as Petey and his buddy walked out of the back of the ride.

"You're still here," he said.

"We said we would be," I told him.

"Petey, House's team just called to say that Christopher is worse again," Jess told him, letting her own concern show in her voice and on her face.

Petey shrugged. "So? You want some samples from me, you can have 'em. But I'm staying here."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25.

Petey led us to the restrooms that were reserved for park staff, far away from the park's visitors. Jess started to follow us in until Petey's buddy, whose badge said he was 'Lester', pointed to the 'Men' sign and she sighed and crossed her arms, but stayed outside. "Call the airline and see whether we can get a flight out later this afternoon," I called to her as the three of us, who met the requirements of the sign, entered the restroom.

I wasn't sure why Lester had come with Petey and me, but it was none of my business. I just wanted to get the damned sample and leave. Although one more time on Harry Potter would be sweet if Petey could get me in without standing on line again.

I collected both a blood and a urine sample from the runaway dad, then added a swab from inside his mouth, and stowed them all in a small insulated bag I had with me. I didn't know whether there were park rules against taking the samples of bodily fluids here or carrying them through the park, but I was afraid that if we tried to arrange to meet Petey outside the park, he'd scamper.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"That's it," I said with a nod. "Of course, I wouldn't mind another ride before we go, but then we'll be out of your hair."

"Hey, it's the least you can do for them, Petey," his buddy told them. "Although I really think you should go see the kid if he's that sick and all."

I smiled a thank you to Lester for the effort. We walked out into the bright sunshine and Jess looked at us expectantly. "Got my samples," I told her. "And maybe a way to by-pass the line for the ride of your choice." I felt safe in saying that because I just knew she'd pick either Spidey or Harry Potter.

"You can do that for us?" she asked Petey and Lester with a big grin.

"Well, we'll do our best," Lester promised, although I could see that Petey just wanted us gone.

"Even the Spiderman ride? Or Harry Potter?" Jess asked excitedly. "They were both awesome!"

"Well, the easiest for us to get you into is the one we work on," Lester said.

Jess grinned again and looked to see whether that pleased me, too.

"That'll work for us," I told him, then turned to Petey, "And then we'll be flying off to New Jersey and it's possible we'll never bother you again."

He frowned, and let Lester approach the man who'd shooed us away from the Spiderman ride earlier in the day, before we'd found Petey. I could see the people in line look at us and wonder who we were to be treated like VIPs, as we were let in ahead of them all.

The ride was as much fun as the first time, surprising me because we knew what was about to happen. I would have asked to do it again if we didn't have to head for the airport and home. As we got off, Jess told me she'd arranged our flight home.

When we exited the ride, we thanked Lester. Petey was no where to be seen, not that I expected him to be. We left the park and took the moving walkways to the garage, then drove directly to the airport. It had been a smart move to check out of our motel in the morning and take our bags with us. Jess had been able to get us a four thirty flight and we'd have just enough time to drop-off the rental car and pick up our boarding passes.

"I'm glad we got in that last ride," Jess said, as we sat in the hard plastic chairs at the gate for our plane. "I have a feeling we won't have time for any fun again any time soon."

I nodded. She was right of course. I just hoped I'd find something in the samples I'd gotten from Petey to justify this trip. A thought occurred to me. "Jess, you and Nina said that Petey was a good student until the accident that killed your mother."

She winced at the bald way I'd put that, but nodded. "He wasn't the smartest, but he tried very hard, worked at his studies."

"Did he ever have episodes when he seemed out of it?" I asked.

She looked like she was going to say 'no', but then thought further about it. "We always chalked it up to a phase he was going through. He'd seem to withdraw, sometimes for an hour and other times, for as much as a couple of days. And then he'd just snap out of it."

"How old was he at the time?" House asked.

"Um, prepubescent, I'd say, ten, maybe," she replied.

It was something to consider. Had there been episodes earlier than that, ones she didn't remember because she was just a kid herself, self-absorbed by the changes in her own body as she went from child to teenager? Who would know? Maybe her father, but I didn't think I'd get that kind of information out of the man. Any information at all, if truth be told.

The boarding started, and since we were in first class again, Jess and I grabbed our bags, gave the gate attendant our boarding passes and made our way down the walkway and onto the plane. We settled into our seats, and I ordered a stiff drink, but Jess stuck with orange juice.

"Guess you're looking forward to getting back to New Jersey and away from me," I said.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly," she replied. "What I want is to see Chris for myself and find out what your team has been able to do for him."

I studied her face. She was quite serious. "You really care about that little boy, don't you?" I asked her.

"Don't you?"

I didn't have an answer that I was willing to share with her. After a while, she went back to sipping her juice and looking out the window. I don't know what was so interesting on the tarmac. She couldn't even see them loading the luggage. Seeing all those different bags moving up the conveyor could be cool.

Then the rabble started to file down the aisle to coach, pulling their rolling carry-ons behind them. I might have missed him if I hadn't looked up at exactly the right time. Or maybe not, because he came to a dead stop and looked past me in the aisle seat to his sister.

"Jess!" Petey exclaimed.


	26. Chapter 26

_Thanks for all the wonderful reviews on this story!_

**Chapter 26.**

Jess stared at her brother, who just stood there in the aisle, stopping the line of passengers behind him until a stewardess urged him on. Jess' eyes followed him as he stepped into the seat behind us to let the others go past, and when they'd all gone, he returned.

"You changed your mind!" Jess said with a smile.

"Lester said I was being an idiot," Petey explained.

"Lester is a wise man," I told him, but he glared at me.

"Well, I'd better see if there are any seats left in coach that aren't at the very rear of the plane," he said, and moved off again. I had a feeling he'd wanted Jess to go with him, or maybe for me to offer to switch seats with him, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Do you really think he's here because Lester shamed him into it?" Jess asked me. I was sure she hoped it was out of concern for his son.

I shrugged. "I don't care why he decided to come back with us. I do know it'll be easier to have him around in case I need to do any tests on him."

"Do you think that's likely?" she wondered.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

She frowned as she considered that. "Those questions you were asking earlier about Petey. You think he may have a milder form of what Chris has, don't you?"

I nodded once. "Certainly if he does, it hasn't been as obvious."

She sat back to think about that just as the flight attendants began their spiel about seat belts and flotation devices and all those other safety things that you've heard a million times. Unless you haven't been on an airplane in the last thirty years.

I took the catalog out of the seat pocket to glance through, although that, too, probably hasn't changed for at least five years. Still, it was fun to look at the pictures and wonder if anyone ever bought any of this junk. The prices alone on some of it made my head spin. Although there was this neat set of headphones...

The plane taxied down the runway, and after another wait, we were off into the wild blue yonder. My mind kept wandering back to my earlier discussion with Jess and the questions she'd asked. She was right, I was considering that Petey might have the same condition as his son. I wondered if I could get him to go through more extensive testing. There were always ways to trick someone into doing what you wanted, of course, and I'd probably resort to them if I had to.

I was glad the flight was short. I might not always answer my phone, but when we had a case like this, I hated to be out of touch. While we were airborne, there was no way I could reach my team or that they could reach me. So the minute we touched down and I could turn my phone back on, I checked for messages. There were none, but to be sure, I called the hospital. I felt Jess' eyes on me and knew without looking at her that there'd be an anxious frown on her face.

As we walked out onto the walkway, I asked Chase for any news on Christopher.

"No change," he said.

"Well, the good news is that we have Petey's samples with us AND Petey," I told him.

"He came back with you?" Chase sounded surprised.

"Yes. Now all we have to do is convince him to undergo some tests," I said. We were out in the gate area and Jess and I had stopped to wait for Petey to join us.

"What kind of tests?" Chase asked. "Do you think he has a form of the same problem as Chris?"

"Bingo!"

"Alright," he said. "Bring him in and we'll see what we can do."

"Gotta go," I said. "See you soon." We'd spotted Petey coming through the gate and looking around.

Jess walked to her brother and told him we'd be going directly to the hospital. He nodded and didn't object. One possible obstacle eliminated. Petey went with her to her car and I found mine in the crowded lot. We drove separately to PPTH, but met up again in the lobby.

"I'll take you up to see Christopher before I take these samples to the lab," I told Petey.

He wasn't all that enthusiastic about seeing his son, but I hoped that the experience would arouse his paternal feelings if he had any. Thirteen was in the room with the baby, checking his vitals. She looked up at our arrival. "House, you're back."

"Nothing like stating the obvious to demean your intelligence," I said. "This is Petey," I indicated the young man with my cane as Jess moved closer to look at her nephew.

Thirteen's eyes took Petey in and she smiled, making me roll my eyes. OK, so he was a good-looking guy. That didn't stop him from being a pain.

Chase and Ellie entered right behind them. "Petey, what are you doing here?" she asked, less happy to see him than I expected.

"Didn't Chase tell you we were bringing him back with us?" I asked her, then looked at Chase. "Any changes?"

"Since I talked to you, what, an hour ago?" Chase asked. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, I'll bring Petey's samples to the lab. Hopefully they'll give us a new clue," I said, leaving the room and its occupants. I didn't need to be a witness to any drama that might unfold.

The lab was busy as usual, but I was able to convince one of the techs that I needed the samples analyzed, stat. I'd been thinking what other tests I wanted to subject Petey to, and left the lab to formulate a plan.

As I passed the conference room I noticed that Taub was the only one there. I didn't bother to stop, but kept right on going to Wilson's office, pushing the door open without knocking.

Wilson looked up from the file he was reading. He didn't seem surprised to see me. Was I that predictable? "How was the Sunshine State?" he asked.

"Sunny." I sat down on his couch and began tapping my cane.

"What do you want, House?" Wilson finally asked, trying to look stern and failing. Considering all the practice he's had with me, it's a wonder he hasn't gotten any better at it.

"Oh, nothing from you," I said. "Just needed a place to put some pieces together without being disturbed."

His curiosity got the better of him. "What pieces?"

"Everything I know about Peter Giordano, Jr." I said. "And what it has to do with his son's condition."


	27. Chapter 27

_I hope you know how much I appreciate all the wonderful reviews on this story!_

**Chapter 27.**

It took me a half hour to systematically tell Wilson what I knew about Petey, including the 'spells' Jess had described, the car accident that killed his mother, and his attitude about his son.

"You think being heartless is a hereditary trait?" Wilson asked when I was done.

"If he's heartless, and I'm not sure he is, not completely, then it's a trait he inherited from his father, so why shouldn't it be part of what he passed on to his son?" I reasoned.

Wilson nodded. "I just never heard of that as a symptom of anything."

"Maybe not," I said, resting my chin on my cane. "I'm running tests on the samples I got from Petey in Florida. They'll take some time, but meanwhile I'd like to put him through some psychological testing."

Wilson nodded.

"Foreman thought the kid might be suffering from Degenerative Central Nervous System Disease but he hasn't been able to prove it," I added. "At least we've ruled out my first guess, Hunter's Syndrome."

"Ouch!" Wilson said. "That would have been really bad."

"Yeah," I said nodding. "But it could still be something even worse, something that would kill him outright before his second birthday."

"That's what you're afraid of, isn't it? House, I think you've abandoned the ranks of the heartless yourself!" Wilson said with mock amazement.

"You don't think I care?" I protested.

"About your patients? Not usually. But there have been times, and I'm thinking this is one of them," Wilson said, having his own epiphany. "What is it about this kid that's getting to you?"

I narrowed my eyes at my friend. It was actually a good question, maybe even one worth pursuing. I'd gone after this case to prove to myself that my life had meaning and yet, somewhere along the way I developed a real interest not just in the case but in the people involved. What was it about Christopher especially that got through the shields I kept around my emotions? And did it have anything to do with what was wrong with him?

I left Wilson's office without another word, lost in my thoughts. I didn't even notice Jess standing outside my office looking in until she saw me and called out, "House!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned to her.

"I think you should know. Petey and Ellie had words and he stormed out."

I frowned. How was I going to do the tests I wanted if he took off again? But he hadn't gone far. Chase was escorting Petey off the elevator before we even reached it.

"Caught up with him in the lobby," Chase said, letting go of the elbow he'd been holding onto as he propelled Petey toward us.

"And where do you think you were going?" I asked.

"Back to Florida," Petey replied with a belligerent glare. "I knew it was a mistake to come here! But Lester bullied me into it, saying I was being as bad a dad as mine was."

"Petey, as long as you're here, you need to help the doctors find out what's wrong with Christopher," Jess pleaded. "I promise, you can go right back to the land of sun and fun once they've figured that out."

I noticed she didn't call on his paternal feelings. It was probably as obvious to her as it was to everyone else that he didn't have any.

"What was the argument with Ellie about?" I asked.

Petey didn't answer, but Chase was quick to tell me, "I think she wanted him to understand what she'd gone through after he left, and he didn't want to hear anything about it."

"I never told her to stay away from her parents," Petey objected. "I knew they'd be happy to take her and the kid in."

"The kid has a name," I told him. "Your son's name is Christopher."

"Yeah, well, I wanted to call him Peter the third, or Trey," Petey said. "But Ellie insisted."

"So that means you won't use his name when you talk about him?" Jess asked in some disgust.

Petey sighed. "Alright, Christopher. But he's no saint! He used to cry all the time, not a real strong cry either, just a kind of whimper, you know." He shook his head. "It took me months to get that sound outta my head!"

I studied him, not because of what a jerk he was but because something like that could bother him that much. "What other sounds annoy you?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Besides the baby's whimpering, what's the most annoying sound you know?" I pressed.

He actually thought about it. "It's a toss-up between a dripping faucet and those insect things, what're they called? The ones that go all night in the summer."

"Cicadas?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, them."

Those were pretty annoying sounds, but why did those bother him more than, say, a ringing alarm clock, or my personal least favorite, the sound of a police siren? And was this another symptom? These thoughts led me to ask Chase, "How has Christopher responded to different sounds?"

"We've been concentrating on his reactions to sight, but I did notice he started whimpering when we turned on some of the monitors," Chase said.

I nodded. The constant beep could be annoying. "What about the CT scan machine? How'd he react to that?"

"He screamed twice, I think," Thirteen said.

"Well, folks, I think we have ourselves a new symptom," I said with a smile. "There's a hearing test that they've perfected for kids who can't talk yet. See whether Finnegan can run it on Christopher for us." I looked at Petey. "And let's run one on Father of the Year here, too."

"You're thinking hyperacusis." Chase jumped on the idea.

"Maybe. People with autism also have hypersensitivity to certain frequencies especially when they're loud."

"I'll go order the tests," Thirteen said, already halfway out the door.

"What was that first one, hyperacu-something?" Jess asked.

"Hyperacusis. It's a lack of tolerance for ordinary sounds," I explained. "And it can be quite severe. But there are treatments." I guess I was beginning to hope that was all that was wrong with Christopher.

"There's nothing wrong with my ears," Petey said. "I can hear just fine. In fact, maybe too well." He'd finally realized what we'd been talking about.

"Maybe, but we can do an easy test to find out," Chase told him. "It won't hurt, and won't even take a lot of time, especially since we know what we're looking for."

The young man looked around at all of us watching him, then sighed in resignation. "Alright, I'll take your stupid test. But I'm telling you. There's nothing wrong with my hearing."

Thirteen was back already with the news. "Finnegan will run tests on Chris a little later today, and he can see Petey in a half hour."

Jess took her brother's arm. "C'mon. I know where I can buy you a cup of coffee. They may even have some apple pie," she told him, then gave us a look that clearly said 'I've got this under control' and led Petey out.

'Do you really think that's what it's been all along?" Chase asked.

I shrugged. "It's a better diagnosis than any we've come up with so far. But don't go racing off to tell Ellie yet," I said, knowing full well that's what he intended to do. "Wait until the tests confirm."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. No sense getting her hopes up."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28.**

I looked at Chase again. "Have you fallen for poor little Ellie?" I asked in a mocking voice. "She is still married you know."

"I know," Chase said, not really answering my question. "She's a nice person and going through a really rough time," he added.

"Most of our patients' family members do," I said, although I wondered about the 'nice' part. Actually many of them were quite annoying which is why I have my team deal with them.

"And I don't have much faith in the health of Ellie and Petey's relationship," Chase said, ignoring my comment.

"You'd take on a woman with a young kid, one who might need years of treatment?" I asked. I was as surprised as Chase that my mocking tone was gone.

But he wasn't interested in talking about it at that point. "Let's see what these hearing tests show."

Thirteen had been watching us volley back and forth and was finally ready to ask something. "Is hyperacusis hereditary?"

It was a valid question, one I hadn't really thought about. "I don't think there's any direct proof that hyperacusis is, but some of the causes, like Williams' Syndrome are. And it does occur in families, although no one knows why."

"So there's no particular chromosomal deficiency," she concluded.

"Again, not unless the cause is a genetic disease," I said, wondering how we were going to prove that the boy and his father had the same problem. Then I thought it might actually be cool if we were the ones to prove that hyperacusis is genetic. Well, we'd worry about that later. "Thirteen, go make sure Jess gets Petey to his appointment with Finnegan," I told her.

She nodded and left. I knew that Finnegan was one of those unimaginative doctors who just carried out the usual tests and procedures without thinking outside the box, but he was good at what he did and very thorough, so if there was something to find, he'd find it. We just had to sit back and wait.

Or not. I needed to do some research on the causes of hyperacusis. My memory had dredged up all that I'd told Chase and Thirteen, but I wasn't up on the latest findings on the problem. I also knew that Williams was another one of those genetic diseases without a known cure, and I was hoping it wasn't our answer.

As I'd thought, no one had yet proven a direct link between hyperacusis and any genetic abnormality. Besides Williams, the condition could be associated with autism, TMJ, Menieres, and Bell's palsy, but could also be triggered by long-term exposure to loud music, severe head trauma, and chronic ear infections. I seemed to remember that Christopher had a history of the later when he was younger. Had Petey suffered head trauma due to the accident? But then, the condition wouldn't have been passed on to his son, and wouldn't have shown up earlier in his life in the form of the 'spells' Jess had described. The case had been interesting before, and now it was becoming even more so.

I found only one article by researchers who had tried to prove a genetic factor, not so much for hyperacusis, but a tendency toward the syndrome. If they were right, it would account for father and son having different triggers. I reread the article three times. The doctors hadn't been able to prove what they were postulating, and they gave no indication of which chromosome or allele they were studying.

I was looking for any other similar reports when Jess entered my office alone. "The doctor is running his tests on Petey," she said. "I was going to go back to see Chris, but decided to come see what you'd been able to come up with."

"Aw, you missed me!" I joked.

She smiled. "That too."

I stared at her. She was serious. I hid my surprise by telling her what I'd come across, even though I wasn't sure she'd understand. Maybe I didn't care whether she did or not.

"So if there's some kind of genetic defect that both Petey and the baby have, it might be connected to a tendency toward this condition?" she asked, showing that she did understand. I'd forgotten how smart she was. "How do you find it?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not even sure where to look, and a complete genetic analysis takes a long time. There are some genes that have been typically found to be involved in similar problems, so I think we can start with those. I've already asked for an examination of the chromosomes that have been linked to other diseases."

"And how long will that take?" she asked.

"Hopefully not too long," I said, but seeing the concern in her eyes I added, "Jess, we're working as quickly as we can."

She nodded. "I know."

"I've been wondering how Petey could tolerate the noises at Universal if he has this problem," I said.

Jess shrugged. "Maybe he used the earplugs he had on the plane."

She was right. I'd seen him put them in before he walked back to coach, but hadn't thought anything of it. Lots of people used them to block out the constant drone of the jet engines. Another puzzle solved quite simply. I smiled. "Why don't you go see Christopher?" I suggested. "We haven't told Ellie any of what we're thinking right now, so avoid that, but you can reassure her that we're working hard on her son's case."

"Alright," she said. "Thanks, House. I know this case means a lot to you and that you'll do everything possible."

I watched her go, grateful that Ellie had someone like Jess as part of her support system. Ellie's parents had been to see the baby while I'd been gone, but they had to go back to their jobs, and her sister still hadn't shown up. I already knew that Petey wasn't going to be much help.

About an hour later, Thirteen came back with Petey's hearing test results. "Finnegan thinks that you're right," she said. "Petey's reaction to sounds at various decibels indicated hyperacusis."

"Where is he now?" I asked.

"Chase took him back to the baby's room," she reported. "Can we tell Ellie what we found and what we suspect?"

I considered it for a while, then stood. "I'll tell her."

We found Christopher's room crowded. His parents were glaring at each other, Jess was trying to play peacemaker, and Chase was tending to the baby. They all looked my way when I entered with Thirteen right behind me.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" I asked to really get their attention. I didn't wait for anyone to answer. "Petey, there IS something wrong with your hearing. You have hyperacusis, which is a heightened response to sound. Don't know yet what caused it." I'd ask about the car accident later, but it wasn't that important right now. "It's possible the same thing's wrong with Christopher, although as Thirteen pointed out, it's not strictly hereditary."

"If that's what's wrong, what can you do for Chris?" Ellie asked.

"Don't you care that Petey has the same problem?" I asked.

"Well, I guess," she said.

"It'll depend on the cause, but the condition has been successfully managed using pink noise generators, or the earplugs that Petey's been using all along." I looked at him accusingly. How he could claim that he didn't have a hearing problem when he relied on the things was beyond me. "The test they do on the baby later today will confirm whether that's his malady."

"But how can something as simple as that make him so inattentive?" Ellie asked.

"He's just automatically using everything he can to block out any noise, any sound that disturbs him," I explained.

"So what's the good news?" Petey asked.

I rolled my eyes. What an idiot!

"Petey, the good news is that the doctors now think they know what's wrong with your son," Jess explained.

"Oh," he said.

I rolled my eyes again.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29.**

Ellie went along when they took Christopher for his hearing test. I think she understood that the problem we described for her was manageable. Maybe not easily, but within reason. She also seemed to understand that, depending on the cause of his hyperacusis, it could still be a serious condition that would require even more treatment than the hearing condition.

Not so Petey. He was even denser than I thought. Both of his sisters had told me he was smart, but I didn't see any evidence of it. OK, Jess had admitted he'd been a good student only because he worked at it, not because of any inherent intelligence. I was beginning to wonder whether Jess was the only brainy one in the family.

"I think I'd better head back home as soon as we get Christopher's results," she said. "Dad will be furious that I've been away this long without telling him I was leaving. And he'll really hit the roof if he ever finds out where I've been. Petey, you want to come with me?" She knew that would make things even worse with her father, but had to offer.

"I don't have anything in Dorsey anymore," he said.

"You have a father and two sisters who care about you," she objected.

"You've all had a fine way of showing it!" he shouted angrily.

"Jess is just trying to help," Thirteen said. "Whatever problems you have with your family, she's been very supportive of Ellie and the baby, and she's been worried about you."

"Thanks, Remy," Jess said. "I know Petey's mad at Dad for how he was treated, and I don't blame him. Nina and I didn't help in the past."

"Jess, he should know how much you've done," Thirteen said.

"I'm not sure it will make any difference." Jess sighed. "So, what are you going to do?" she asked her brother.

"I guess I'll just head back to Florida," he said.

"And your hyperacusis?"

"I'm managing just fine," Petey insisted.

"But we still don't know the underlying cause," I told him. "You're going to have to stick around until we get the results of the genetic tests."

"And who's gonna make me?" he asked, hands on hips.

"Petey, you're here. You might as well listen to Dr. House and stay," Jess advised him. "It won't be long and then you can take off." She sighed once more. "If you'd like, I'll stay in Princeton too."

I watched Petey's face, wondering how he'd take his sister's offer. I had an idea how much it might cost her in the long run if she stayed any longer. It didn't look like Petey did, though.

"Jess, you can stay with me," Thirteen offered.

I was sure Jess didn't swing that way, but it wasn't the optimal situation. We'd been able to arrange for Ellie to stay at the hospital, but that wouldn't work for Jess either. It was one of those moments I wished I had a spare room, myself.

"Thanks Remy, but I think it would be best if Petey and I get rooms at the nearest motel," Jess said, settling the issue herself. I tried not to smile.

Petey frowned at all of us. "How much longer do you think it'll be?" he asked me.

"It can take as much as a week or two, but we've rushed things and told the lab techs to focus on particular chromosomes," I said. "We may have the initial results late tomorrow, the next day at the latest."

"I guess I can hang around that long," he said.

Foreman had been the one to accompany Ellie and the baby to see Finnegan and finally he returned. "Finnegan confirmed that the baby has hyperacusis, too," he said. "He's not sure what caused it. though."

At least we knew we were on the right track finally, and we'd verified that both Christopher and his father had the same condition.

"Now what?" Jess asked.

"Now we wait for the genetic testing results. Luckily, we don't have to do a full genome sequencing, 'cause that'd take a long time. The lab will just look at certain chromosomes and the genes on them for mutations and defects. For instance, originally I was leaning toward Turner Syndrome, which is associated with changes in the X chromosome, and Foreman is probably still thinking it may be 22q13 Deletion Syndrome..." I looked at Petey and Jess and saw that I was right on the money about who would understand, and who hadn't a clue. "As the name implies, that's caused by a deletion in the 22q chromosome." I felt like I was giving a med school lecture, and decided to stop there.

Jess nodded. It looked like she really did get it. Petey seemed to be bored to tears. "Can we get outta here now?" he asked his sister.

Jess sighed. "OK. We'll be back in the morning," she said. "And thanks, all of you, for everything you're doing for Chris and Ellie." She smiled. "You're going to tell me that you'd do the same for all of your patients, but I don't buy that," she said with a smirk. "See ya!" she called as she led her brother out.

I watched them go, trying to deny to myself that the prospect of seeing her again the next day made everything seem better.

It had been a long day, and there wasn't much more that any of us could do. We'd made some progress in diagnosing Christopher. Now we had to wait for the results of the genetic testing.

"I'm going home," I told my team. "Call me if there are any developments," I added, but I didn't expect any.

There was little traffic and I reached my place quickly. It was good to be back in my own apartment again. Two days away and the mail had begun to accumulate, but I tossed it on the kitchen counter knowing I wasn't in the mood to go through it, got myself a beer and leafed through the take-out menus, trying to decide on dinner. Dinner alone. Why did that seem like a dismal idea?

I shrugged and settled for Chinese food, calling Peking Garden and ordering my usual dumplings and Szechuan beef.

I sat on the couch, found the remote and watched a program on the birth of the blues that I'd DVR'd. It was distracting enough that I was able to relax. My dinner arrived and that helped, too. It was good to be alone, doing what I wanted and not thinking about anything or anyone else, or so I told myself.

The program ended and I finished all of my food. Now what was I going to do? I could always go back out, find a bar and get drunk, but somehow that didn't appeal to me.

In the end, I just got ready for bed. I stared at the ceiling for a long time before I was able to fall asleep.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30.**

In the morning as I showered I found myself humming to myself. I was actually looking forward to going to the hospital, maybe for the first time in a long time, maybe forever.

I picked out a light-blue button-down to wear over my band T and trimmed my stubble. It was looking grayer than ever, but I refused to do anything about that. I grabbed my bag and was out the door, knowing I could get breakfast at the hospital.

My first stop when I arrived was Christopher's room. Ellie and Chase were there, talking quietly. The baby seemed to be resting comfortably and I wondered if they'd already started the sound generation therapy. "Have we gotten any more results?" I asked Chase.

"Not yet, but Paul promised we'd have some preliminaries this morning," he replied. Paul was one of the senior analysts in the lab, and the expert on genetic testing.

I nodded. "I'll be in my office," I said, and left them to whatever they were discussing. I doubted it was the case.

As I passed the conference room, I saw Foreman, Taub and Thirteen sitting around the table. The newspaper was spread out all over it, and it looked like Taub was working on the crossword puzzle while Foreman read the financial pages. Thirteen seemed to be engrossed in an article in the entertainment section. My own office was dark and empty. I reversed my direction and took the elevator back down, deciding I had time for some breakfast.

I spotted them the moment I walked through the door, Jess and Petey deep in conversation over untouched plates of food and mugs of coffee. I went through the line quickly, told the cashier to put my food on Wilson's tab. She did it without any question because it wasn't unusual, and I walked directly to the Giordano's table.

"You don't mind if I join you, do you?" I asked, adding my own plates and mug to the table and filching a rasher of bacon from Petey's.

"We were having a private conversation," he replied, trying to set his weak chin in a firm line.

"It's alright, Petey," Jess told him. "We weren't talking about anything Dr. House shouldn't hear. In fact, it might help him, as well as Christopher, if you told him what you just told me."

"And what was that?" I asked, almost daring him to speak.

"Jess was asking whether I hit my head during the car accident," Petey said, his eyes swiveling between us. "I don't remember. Honestly. But I do remember when I was about ten falling off my bike and hitting the back of my head. Hard."

"You have no memory of any injuries from the car accident?" I asked.

Petey shook his head slowly back and forth. "I try not to think about it."

"Jess, do you remember the bike riding incident?" I asked.

"Only vaguely," she said, shrugging. "I guess I didn't pay much attention to what was going on in Petey's life back then. If he was ten, I was about eighteen."

I hadn't realized she was that much older than her brother. "What about Nina?"

"She would have been around sixteen, and even less interested in our brother," Jess said. "I'm sorry. I guess my father is the only one who might remember. Or maybe Ellie," she said after a pause. "Should I go ask her?"

"No, there'll be time for that," I told her. She needed to stay right where she was. I told myself it was to keep Petey in check, but I was already beginning to realize that was only partly the case. "You did say he had periods around then when he was withdrawn."

"Yes, I guess it was around that time that they started."

"Petey, do you remember needing to block out the world after the bike accident?" I asked him.

"Huh?" He'd been pretty much ignoring the conversation Jess and I were having, starting to eat his food maybe because the chewing would keep him from hearing us.

"You say you remember that accident. Did you feel differently about anything afterwards?" I asked.

"I...I'm not sure. I did start to spend more time studying after that, I think, but that's not what you mean, is it?"

"It may be. You wanted to be alone," I stated.

"Well, yeah. The other kids were distracting," he replied.

"So, that may have been the triggering event." I was silent for a while, if you consider the chomping noise I was making as I ate as silence. "I still wonder about the car accident," I finally said.

"Why?" Petey asked. "And why does everyone keep bringing it up?"

"They don't," Jess objected. "Right afterwards, maybe. But Nina and I don't talk about it anymore because it's too painful for us too."

"Yeah, well," Petey said, swallowing hard.

"Sounds like you don't want to think or talk about it and at the same time you do," I said, watching his reaction.

"I was driving and we had an accident and our mother was killed, alright? That's all I'll say," Petey replied angrily.

I decided to leave it alone for a while, but I was still convinced there was more to it than that.

"So, have you gotten any more results," Jess asked me. She obviously realized a change in topic was needed.

"Not yet. The senior lab tech who's running the tests should have some results this morning."

"And then I can go back home?" Petey asked.

"To Florida, you mean?" Jess asked him.

"Well, yes. That's my home now!" he insisted.

Jess sighed and frowned, her disappointment in her brother was obvious. Me? If I didn't need his body for testing to help Chris, I'd just as soon send him on his way immediately.

I saw Chase in the doorway, waving a sheet of paper, and I knew we had some of our results. I couldn't really tell by his expression what they were, so I took one last bite of food, and one last gulp of coffee and went to see what it said.

He handed it to me, saying, "There's no evidence of Williams, and the mutations associated with autism aren't present in either Petey's or Christopher's genes."

I nodded, not looking up from the report. "But it looks like they both have one defect in common," I said.

"Yes, and it's one that hasn't been associated with any disease or condition in the past," Chase said. He was trying to hide the excitement in his voice.

"So how do we prove a connection to their hearing problem?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Chase agreed.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31.**

Before we left the cafeteria, Thirteen joined us. Chase shared Petey and Christopher's results with her, and she immediately stated, "Having two people, related or not, who have the same genetic defect and the same hearing problem is too small a sample to prove anything."

"So how will you get a larger sample?" Jess asked.

"First we have to find other patients with the same syndrome," Chase suggested.

"And I know just how to do that!" Thirteen said, brightening considerably.

We watched as she rushed out. Chase and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"She probably went to ask Finnegan," Chase guessed.

"Somehow I don't think so." I shook my head.

"Then where could she have gone?" Jess asked. "How can she identify other patients?"

"The Interweb! She'll find some appropriate sites and start a query," Chase realized. "In fact, all she'd have to do was Google the condition and chances are there are reports of other patients or even a support group."

"You'd be amazed how much you can do online," I said. "Well, maybe you wouldn't be," I amended, looking at Jess. She was probably an accomplished Googler and tweeter and whatever else-er.

"So, you don't need me any more, right?" Petey asked impatiently.

We'd all forgotten he was even there. Jess glared at him and sighed. "I'll drive you to the airport, if that's what you want," she replied. She turned to me. "It's alright for him to leave, isn't it?"

"Unless he wants to be treated," I said. "He seems to be dealing all right with his ear plugs."

"But would treatment be better?" Jess asked.

"He might even turn into a caring human," I said, eliciting a narrowed eye glare from the man in question, and a smirk from his sister.

"Are you talking about that pink stuff you're trying on Christopher?" Petey asked.

"Pink noise generation. Yes," I said. "It desensitizes the hearing and makes sounds more tolerable."

Pete actually gave that some thought. "Shouldn't it be blue noise for boys?"

I didn't even try to suppress my laughter. I knew he wouldn't understand if I told him pink noise was a signal with a frequency spectrum such that the energy or power was inversely proportional to the frequency, or that the name arose from being intermediate between white and red noise. And it wasn't as if there was no such thing as blue noise. It just wasn't used to treat people with hyperacusis.

"If it makes you feel better we can treat you with blue noise," Chase said, then winked at me.

Petey didn't notice the sarcasm. He smiled and said, "Now you're talking."

"I'll go set it up," Chase said, escaping before he began to laugh too.

Jess looked at me quizzically but I just smiled. There'd be time to tell her later what Chase went off to arrange.

Meanwhile, Thirteen returned. "It's amazing how many people have this problem or know of someone who does," she said. "But I've been thinking. How are we going to get any of them here to check their DNA?"

"I'm sure Cuddy can come up with a research group to sponsor it," I replied. "And if not, we could always apply for a grant. I've never done that, actually, so it'd be cool!"

"House that can take months!" Thirteen objected.

I shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I understand there's a whole team of folks here at the hospital who do nothing all day but apply for grants for studies that are much less important than this one. Foreman will know who we should approach."

Thirteen considered that before nodding and going off again, this time to find Foreman.

"What do we tell Ellie?" Jess asked.

"I'm sure Chase has been keeping her up to date on our progress," I said.

"Is he making moves on my wife?" Petey asked through narrowed eyes.

"You don't seem to care about what she's going through, but other people do," Jess said with more vehemence than I'd have expected.

"You do know she can file for divorce based on the fact that you abandoned her and your kid," I pointed out, since I was certain it hadn't entered his brain.

"She never really understood," he said.

That was a new one. "What didn't she understand?" I asked.

"That there weren't any jobs here. And she couldn't keep the kid quiet, from the day he was born."

He had a point about the jobs, and I was sure it was their hyperacusis that made the baby such a nuisance to Petey. But neither fact excused his lack of concern for either Ellie or Christopher.

"They're better off without you," Jess told him.

"Well, I'm better off without them, too!" he shouted.

Jess looked at me. "I think I'll go see Ellie and Chris," she said. "If I spend another minute with my brother I think I'll just have to scream!"

I glanced at Petey, then back at Jess. "I don't blame you. I think I'll come along." We left Petey alone in the conference room, his last expression one of total incomprehension.

Ellie sat at her son's bedside, smoothing the hair off his forehead. The baby was hooked up to a sound generator and didn't seem to mind it at all. The two of them weren't alone. A young woman, taller than Ellie with the same coloring, and quite a bit prettier, stood with her back to the window watching Ellie and Christopher. She looked toward the door as Jess slid it open.

"Jessica!" she exclaimed. "Ellie told me you were here." She frowned.

"Hi, Jackie. When did you get here?" Jess asked. For some reason she wasn't smiling either.

"Oh, about twenty minutes ago."

Jess nodded. "This is Dr. House," she said. "He's the one in charge of Christopher's case."

"We spoke on the phone," Jackie said. Me she smiled at.

"That we did," I agreed. There was a vibe in the room that I couldn't quite interpret. Hadn't Jackie been the one to take Ellie and the baby in? "I'm sure your sister's told you that we know what's wrong with your nephew, and his father, too, for that matter."

"Where is Petey?" Jackie asked, looking behind us.

"He's back in my conference room, waiting for us to start treating him, too." It wasn't hard to tell that Jess didn't like this woman, but I looked at Ellie to see her reaction to her sister's presence. Ellie's attention was on the baby. I didn't think she even knew that any of us were there.

"I came to see Ellie and Christopher as soon as I could," Jackie said, as if we'd all been waiting for her to show up.

"And now you're here," Jess said. "And all will be right with the world."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32.**

"I guess you don't need me anymore," Jess said, biting her lower lip and looking from Ellie to her sister and back. "I'll just be off home."

"Oh, Jess, do you really have to go?" Ellie asked.

"If she wants to go, let her," Jackie said, shrugging.

"You'll come back," I asked, or maybe stated. I wasn't begging, not really.

Jess looked at me. Finally she smiled and said, "Of course." With one last look at Christopher, she slid open the door and left.

"And since when did she become your friend?" Jackie asked her sister. The sneer in her voice matched the one on her face.

"She's been very supportive," Ellie said. "Hasn't she, Dr. House?"

"Yes, she has," I said.

"And you think I haven't wanted to be?" Jackie asked me. "I said I'd come as soon as I could."

I had to say it. "So what kept you?"

"I had to work!" she shouted. "I'm not independently wealthy, you know!"

"And you think Jess is? She defied her father, abandoned her job working for him, and came here to see what she could do. And then she stayed and helped me find Petey." Why was I defending Jess?

"A lot of help he's been!"

"Oh, maybe not voluntarily or purposely, but actually he has," I said.

"Doctor, my sister isn't a bad person," Ellie finally felt the need to say.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. I wasn't convinced based on what Jackie had said and how she'd acted.

"I don't care what you think of me," Jackie said defiantly.

"As long as you don't get in my way, or in the way of my team, I don't care one way or the other," I told her. "Your nephew is my only concern."

Like Jess, I took one look at the baby and, pleased with his reaction to the sound generation treatment, I left the two sisters.

I didn't want to go back to my conference room because Petey was probably still there, and I had nothing to say to him. So I went to bother Wilson. I needed time to think through why I'd reacted to Jackie the way I had.

Except that Wilson had the nerve to be out of his office. My office might be safe, so I entered and went to my desk, leaving the light off so I didn't have any unwelcome visitors.

I didn't know what to think about first: proving that the chromosome defect we'd found was related to a tendency for hyperacusis, finding any other treatment we could try with Christopher, examining my own antipathy toward Petey and my instant dislike of Jackie, or facing the unaccustomed emotions I was feeling when Jess was around or even when I thought about her.

No, I didn't really want to think about the last. It would mean I felt something for her and that wasn't a good thing. Just stick to the medicine, House, I told myself.

My ploy with the light didn't work. I heard footsteps outside my door, but at least it was just Thirteen who found me. She dropped a pile of printouts on my desk. "Cuddy OK'd an application for a grant to study some of these patients." She pointed to the papers. "These are the first fifty people I've identified with the same condition, but we're going to have to select our study group."

"Have Foreman do it," I said. "And you and Chase can handle the contacts necessary to convince them to participate."

"And what'll you be doing?" she demanded with her arms crossed.

"I'll take the credit for whatever the study shows, of course," I said. "Unless it doesn't show any connection. Then I'll let you and Chase explain it."

Thirteen smirked. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Has anyone set up Petey with a noise generator?" I asked. "The sooner we treat him, the sooner he's gone."

"You don't like him, do you?" she asked.

"It's not just his medical problem that turned him into a jerk."

"Takes one to know one." This time it was a real smile that crossed her face.

"You can do better than that," I told her, sneering at her.

"Yeah, I know," she agreed. "Cheap shot, and oh so easy. I think Chase is arranging for the noise generator."

"It seems to be working well for Christopher."

"I know," Thirteen said. "I just stopped by his room."

"So you met Jackie." I tried to keep my face neutral to see what her take was, but I didn't fool her.

"Not a fan of Ellie's sister either, are you?" she asked. "Frankly, I don't blame you. She's got an attitude problem."

"So it wasn't just me."

Thirteen had nothing more to say about Jackie for the moment. "Ellie said that Jess went home to Dorsey." She studied my reaction to that, but I'd had time to get used to the idea, and I knew she'd be back.

"She felt things were under control here and she wasn't needed anymore," I said shrugging. "We've pretty much diagnosed Christopher, and Petey, too. And someone else was here to hold Ellie's hand while the baby gets treated."

"And how long do you think Jackie will be willing to do that?" Thirteen asked. So she wasn't finished with commenting on her.

"If she leaves again, you can have the honor of calling Miss Jessica Giordano about it," I said. So, I was a little peeved that she'd left the way she had. I certainly wasn't going to beg her to come back.

It was a little disconcerting the way Thirteen was studying my face. "I'll do that," she finally said.

"Was there anything else? Because as you can see, I'm pretty busy here."

She smirked at me. "I'll bet you are."

Chase showed up at that point to say, "I've gotten Petey set up with his sound generator. Did you want me to monitor his progress?" It sounded as if he wasn't too keen on doing that.

"Why don't you try to get Finnegan to do it?" Thirteen suggested. "I bet he'd just love to do something like that!"

Chase nodded. "Good idea." And he was off again.

"Weren't you leaving, too?" I asked.

Thirteen looked like she wanted to say something else, but changed her mind. She turned and walked away, and I was all alone once again. But it wasn't long before I heard footsteps again. Now what did Thirteen want?

But it wasn't her figure that was soon backlit in my doorway. "I thought you left," I told Jess, trying hard to keep my voice level, trying not to smile, or frown, or anything else.

"I decided I wasn't finished here just yet," she said, taking a seat in my visitors chair without my invitation.

I had no idea what she was getting at, and I was both eager and fearful to find out.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33.**

I didn't stop to question the elation I felt, seeing that Jess hadn't gone back to Dorsey after all.

"What do you mean you're not finished here?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I wasn't just here for Ellie, or even Christopher," she said. "Honestly, helping you, and your team, too, of course, has been the best experience I've had in a long time!"

"Aw, shucks, Ma'am," I said, feigning humbleness.

She laughed, a deep, honest laugh. "See, there's nothing to laugh about in Dorsey. It's...boring...stifling."

"And it's such a barrel of laughs here," I said.

"It can be. But at least it's never boring. House, I don't want to go home, I want to see if I can find a job here."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "That came out of left field."

"Maybe," she said. "But it seems pretty logical to me."

I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I wasn't even sure I wanted to think about it, but knew I had to. Did I want her to stay? Hell, yes. But should I encourage her?

"I thought you'd gone," Chase told her, entering my office with a form, officially notifying me that Petey was now under the care of Finnegan.

"Can't get rid of me that fast," she told him. "Actually, I was just telling House I've decided to stick around Princeton."

Chase looked at me, I think to gauge my reaction. I kept my face neutral, which was pretty easy to do because there was so much I had to rearrange in my mind.

"I'm going to send my father a long letter, resigning as his accountant and financial advisor," Jess went on. Then she smiled. "If he wants to come after me, he'll have to come here, won't he?"

"Doesn't mean he'll try to see Petey or the baby," I pointed out.

"No." She shrugged. "His loss. I mean not being involved in Christopher's life. I'm not counting on the treatment changing Petey that much."

"You're probably right about that," I agreed.

"I think I'll leave the two of you alone," Chase said, and I suddenly realized that Jess and I were staring at each other, as if he wasn't present.

That was awkward and I knew I had to do something to back off. But Jess beat me to the punch by saying, "Of course, he might send Nina," and looking at Chase.

Chase nodded. "Have you spoken to her since you've been here?"

"Once, just before we left for Florida. I didn't tell her we were going, but I did let her know that your team was working on Chris," she replied.

"Do you think she might have offered to come here if she knew you were leaving?" Chase asked. He was a male after all, and had found Nina as attractive as I had. At first.

"Frankly? I don't think so." Jess shook her head. "Or maybe she would have surprised me. I honestly don't know."

"I'd stick to Ellie if I was you," I told him.

"Weren't you the one who reminded me that she was still married?" Chase asked me.

Jess began to laugh. "Men!"

"Huh?" Chase and I said simultaneously.

"None of you ever think about what we want," she said. "Well, I've got news for you both. None of us are that easy." And with that she left.

I debated about calling after her, but that wasn't my style. Besides, I didn't think it would do any good."

"Blew it again, huh, House?" Chase asked.

I stared at him. "I didn't blow it alone."

He nodded, and then he, too, left. I replayed the entire conversation in my head and then smiled, hoping Jess felt she had to say what she did to stick up for the other women. I don't think any man would ever presume anything with her.

I hadn't asked Chase about how the sound generator was working for Christopher. It might be too soon to tell, but I thought I'd check it out in person, so I headed for his room.

His mother and Aunt Jackie were gone. I think it may have been the first time Ellie left the room in days. I hoped she was off getting some rest or a meal or something.

The only one watching him was Jess. I was a little surprised to find her there.

"He's a little sweetheart," she said, smiling at him.

I thought at first he was asleep, but when I got closer, I could see his eyes were open and he was looking at Jess.

"I thought you were going to avoid this room while Jackie was here," I said.

"I waited until they left."

I nodded and took out my penlight, shining it in the Christopher's eyes. He blinked but then looked right at me. Definitely more alert than he'd been for a while. There was a read-out on the sound generator, and I checked it. He'd had three treatments with it for ten minutes each time. It seemed to be working.

"Talk to him," I instructed Jess.

"Me? OK. Hi, Christopher. I'm your Aunt Jess. Do you remember me?" she said, not in the singsong kind of voice people use with babies and toddlers, but in a normal conversational voice.

He made a sound, perhaps in response. It wasn't a word, of course. He wasn't saying, "Yes, of course I do," but it was a response all the same.

I smiled. "It's too soon to tell, but the treatment might be helping him. It'll have to continue, though, even after he goes home."

"I wonder if Ellie's thought that far ahead," Jess mused. "She's so caught up in what's happening now, I doubt she's considered what she'll do once Chris is released."

"She's got a job and her parents back in Dorsey," I said.

"So do I, or at least I think I still have a job and I definitely have a father and sister," she said, looking from the baby to me. "But that's not enough for me anymore."

"You've definitely decided to stay? You could go anywhere, for that matter," I told her.

"But I don't want to go anywhere."

"If Ellie and the baby leave, what do you have here?" I asked.

She stared at me. "For a genius you really are dumb."

I couldn't believe what I thought she might mean. "I guess you'll have to spell it out for me," I said, hoping against hope.

"Men!" she said, taking a step closer. "OK. I like you. In fact, I like you very much. I even think I may be falling in love with you. For a woman, that's sometimes enough to sway her decisions."

"Women!" I said, matching her tone. But inside I had the strangest feeling I'd ever felt. She couldn't mean what she'd just said. She wasn't like most women, acting on their emotions without consideration of anything else.

"Of course, if you don't want me to stay, I'll understand."

"What? No!" I didn't know what to say. "Stay. Be my guest!" I thought about that a split second. "I don't mean literally." Then I reconsidered. "OK, maybe I do."

Jess laughed. "You are really too much, Dr. House!"


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34.**

Jess had decided it was finally time to bite the bullet and call her father, rather than send him a letter.

"He'll probably be more upset about losing his financial right hand than anything else," I predicted, following her from Christopher's room to the hallway outside.

"I expect he'll disinherit me," she said, but didn't sound too upset by the prospect.

"I doubt it will help if any of us talk to him for you."

"Oh, you're so right!" she said. "Well, it won't get any easier." She sat down on one of the benches in the hall, took out her cell and speed-dialed.

I motioned to ask whether she wanted me to stick around. She smiled at me and mouthed, 'stay', so I joined her on the bench.

She waited patiently, and I could tell from her intake of breath when he answered. "Hello, Dad."

He started in immediately, yelling at her in a loud enough voice that I could hear him, although the words weren't distinguishable.

Jess waited until he'd gotten most of it out of his system, then said, "I'm not coming back. You should be able to find another accountant easily enough."

That got him started on a new rant. I couldn't get over how calm she was, but I suppose she was used to it.

"Are you finished?" she finally asked. "You're not going to change my mind. I've been thinking about doing this for a long time, and the last week away from Dorsey has confirmed my decision."

More loud sounds came from the phone, so loud that Jess had to hold it away from her ear. I wondered if he thought that the louder he was, the more convincing. He should have know her mind was made up.

"I'll be back sometime later in the week to pack up my clothing and books," she said. "Maybe I'll stop by. Then again, maybe not."

The shouting at the other end hadn't stopped.

"It's been great talking to you," Jess finally was able to say. "Good-bye." Once she closed the connection, the calm she'd been displaying suddenly vanished, and she burst into tears. I think it was the first time I ever saw her cry.

I suppose I should have done something to comfort her, but it's not in my nature. Instead I asked, "Did he really think he could change your mind?"

Her smirk said 'yes' louder than words would. "He thinks everyone will always do what he wants, and the fact that they usually do only reinforces his belief." She sighed. "Do you happen to know if the hospital has an opening for an accountant?"

I shook my head, but to clarify, I said, "I don't know. It's possible." I'd been thinking about what she'd do here in Princeton. "On the other hand, I'll need someone to coordinate our little project."

"You mean the research into the genetics of the other people with hyperacusis?" she asked and quickly shook her head. "I've never done anything like that before, you know. I don't know anything about medicine or genetics."

"I know," I told her. "But you have the kind of organizational skills and the mind set we'll need."

"Oh!" She took the time to consider what I was saying. "I hadn't really thought about doing anything like that."

"Well, think about it. We're just getting started. Thirteen can tell you who she's working with on setting it up."

She finally smiled. "You have that much faith in my ability? You still hardly know me."

"I know enough." Looking past her, I saw Ellie getting off the elevator with her sister and walking our way. "We can talk about this more later."

She nodded, then realized my eyes weren't on her any more. She turned and I could see her frown. I was sure it wasn't in response to Ellie. Curious. I'd have to find out what had caused the animosity between Jess and Jackie, but it wasn't my highest priority.

"Dr. House, I think the treatment is really helping Chris," Ellie said. She'd been smiling a lot more.

I nodded once. "We'll have to monitor him for another day, but I think you're right." I turned to her sister. "How long will you be staying?" I tried to keep my voice neutral, but I'm afraid some of Jess' dislike of Jackie was rubbing off on me.

"I have to go back again in a couple of days, but I wanted Ellie to know I was here for her. I also thought you might still need my DNA, but I guess not."

"Nope," I said.

"I'm going back in to the baby," Ellie said.

"I'll be right there," Jackie told her. I wondered what she still had to say to me, but she turned to Jess instead. "I really think your family's done enough harm to my sister and my nephew," she said.

"He's my nephew, too," Jess replied. "And I'm not 'my family'."

"Whatever," Jackie said. "He's getting better, and neither he nor Ellie need you."

"I wonder if you have a clue what your sister needs," Jess said.

Jackie glared at her instead of answering, then followed Ellie into Christopher's room.

"OK, what's the deal?" I asked Jess. "You and Jackie have been sniping at each other since she arrived.

"No deal. I just don't like her," Jess replied.

"Ahuh. Who's the man?" There always seemed to be a man involved when women disliked each other as much as Jess and Jackie clearly did.

"No man," she replied, shaking her head. "Not in the way you mean, at least."

I waited, leaving a silence that human nature urged her to fill.

Finally she sighed. "I don't think Ellie ever noticed. The Clearys never had much, but whatever Ellie had, her younger sister wanted, too."

I already sensed where this was going. "Petey?"

Jess nodded. "It was obvious to anyone that Jackie flirted relentlessly with him. I guess to her he was the big prize: good-looking guy from the richest family in town. And my brother was...flattered by the attention. But she was just a kid." She paused, thinking back quite a few years I guessed. "We argued with him about her that day, Mom and I. I'm not sure Nina cared one way or another, but we both knew Ellie would be the better sister for him. She's got a backbone, you know, and usually she's very level-headed."

"Wait. You're talking about the day of the accident?" Some things were coming together for me.

"Yes." She swallowed loudly and I saw her eyes glisten with tears. "Maybe if we hadn't been arguing he would have been able to react quicker when that drunk driver came toward us." She shook her head vigorously, but couldn't go on.

"So you don't just hate her for coming on to your brother and trying to take him away from Ellie, do you? You connect it in you brain with the accident."

"Thank you, Dr. Freud!" she shouted, but she wasn't really angry at me for pointing it out. She shrugged. "I don't like her. Period. End of story."

I nodded. "And somehow she senses it, and doesn't much care for you either."

"No, I don't suppose she does." She smiled wryly. "Well, now you know."

I nodded. "Now I know. And it explains a lot."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35.**

"Look, you can make up your own mind about Jackie, don't take my word for it," Jess went on.

"I haven't been impressed with her actions," I told her. "And I do trust your judgment."

She stared at me for a few seconds. "Do you really?" she speculated.

"I wouldn't have asked you to help with our little project if I didn't," I told her.

"Speaking of which, I think I'll take you up on the offer, at least for now."

"Good." I nodded. "We can work out the payment at another time."

She nodded. "But right now I'm going to have to see what my brother's up to."

"I thought you were abandoning him," I said.

"Much as I want to, I guess I can't really do that just yet. He's like a little lost sheep sometimes."

"And big sister has to look out for him," I mocked.

"Something like that. Besides everything else, if he's finished here for the day, I'll have to take him back to the motel," she explained. "He has no other way of getting there."

"Weren't you talking about getting a place in town?" I remembered.

" Yes, eventually. If I'm going to stay, it won't be at a motel."

On impulse I said, "Have dinner with me tonight."

She did that staring thing again before replying. I guess she had to think about it. "OK. Pick me up at the motel at seven," she said and walked away.

Watching her go, I suddenly wondered why I'd invited her. It wasn't something I usually did, although occasionally I've wanted to. I'll admit I liked spending time with her. She was great to look at, smart, too. She'd shown how resourceful she was in Florida, and how compassionate she was with Ellie and Chris. I try to avoid the compassionate type, but Jess was different somehow. And the rare times she smiled...

I told myself it was just dinner with a friend. Whatever else she was, she'd become one. And it wouldn't do to analyze anything beyond that.

"We're starting to get responses from other patients," Thirteen said, walking towards me from the elevator and interrupting my thoughts. "Foreman picked the first victims for our study group. Some of them are even using the same pink noise treatment we're using on Christopher."

"Good," I said. "I've asked Jess to work with you and Chase on this. She can handle the non-medical arrangements for the patients who agree to participate in the study, and keep all of the records we'll need."

She grinned at me, one of those knowing grins she sometimes shows. "Anything to keep her around, right?"

I ignored the comment. "She's going to be looking for a place in town. Any suggestions for her?"

"If I have any, I'll make them directly to her." The smirk was deliberate. "Where is she now?"

"She went to collect her brother and return him to the motel where they're currently staying."

"What a loser!" she said.

"I assume you mean Petey."

"Who else? Have you met Ellie's sister? I haven't gotten a handle on her yet."

"I gather she's the type who wants whatever her sister has, good, bad or indifferent."

Chase joined us before we discussed Jackie any further. "Finnegan said Jess took Petey back to the motel."

"That's what she said she was going to do," I replied. "Were you looking for him?"

"They found something else in his blood work, completely unrelated to the hyperacusis or the genetic abnormality."

"What was it?" Thirteen asked.

"Our boy seems to be borderline diabetic."

Now that was a surprise. It didn't fit into the Petey picture, and yet... "What's his A1C?"

"Six point five," Chase reported, handing me the results. "Definitely in the pre-diabetic range."

"He doesn't know?"

"I doubt it," Chase guessed. "He never said anything, did he? And he's not taking any medication for it."

"OK. Make a note of it in his records. We'll have to monitor it, maybe do a fasting glucose test."

"Do you think it's related to anything else?" Thirteen asked.

"I don't know. Anything else show up in his blood analysis?"

Chase shook his head. "That's enough, isn't it?"

"Oh, quite enough."

I'd have to think about this before he went back to Florida. Certainly, we'd have to tell him. I could just imagine his response.

"I'm going home," I told Chase and Thirteen.

She checked her watch. "I guess I'll be leaving now, too."

I expected Chase to stick around, but he said, "Me, too."

"What, not spending the evening sitting with Ellie?" I asked.

"Her sister's here. They have a lot to talk about, I guess."

So we all left the hospital together. I went home in a fairly good mood, but I was still thinking about everyone's first impressions of Jackie Cleary. When I'd talked to her on the phone, what seemed like ages ago, she seemed pleasant enough and anxious to help her sister. But in person, she came across as self-centered and immature. I didn't need the tale Jess told me to know the kind of person she really was. I just hoped she wasn't poisoning Ellie's mind against any of us, because she seemed to be capable of doing just that.

It was really none of my business, of course. What I needed to do was to get ready for dinner with Jess. I didn't even know where I would take her. She seemed to like all sorts of food and have a decent appetite, for a woman. It was much more pleasant to think about than Jackie and any disruptions she might cause.

I showered and changed into another light blue shirt and a gray suit, deciding to forego a tie. Maybe we could go to the chophouse not far from the motel where Jess and Petey were staying. It had opened recently to good reviews. Wilson was the only one I knew who'd tried it so far, and he raved about it, but then Wilson wasn't known to be particularly discriminating.

I took one last look at myself, grabbed my car keys, and left. The drive to the motel wasn't long and I arrived at a couple of minutes before seven. It was one of those motels with rooms off two corridors extending in either direction from the lobby. Jess had given me her room number and I found it easily enough.

I knocked on the door, completely unprepared for the sight when she opened it. She was wearing a dress in a soft light blue fabric that hugged her curves and made her eyes shine. Her hair was freshly washed, if my sense of smell was to be believed, and she had barely any makeup on, but she looked more lovely than ever.

Once I could put two words together in a coherent fashion I told her where I was thinking we should eat.

"The desk clerk said that place is really good," she agreed. "I think my brother's crashed for the night. I was afraid he might want to tag along."

"Ready?"

"I'll just get my purse." She was back almost immediately, and we walked to the lobby together. I noticed the desk clerk smile when he saw us together, and it made me smile as we continued out to my car.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36.**

The restaurant was small, tastefully decorated. I hoped the food lived up to the ambiance. Jess and I were seated after ten minutes, and given ice water, bread and menus. The list of offerings wasn't long, but everything sounded good.

"I think I'll have the grilled shrimp," Jess said, looking over the top of her menu at me. "With a Caesar salad and baked potato."

"Just make sure you leave room for dessert," I told her, since I'd looked at those first, and each one sounded fantastic.

"I always have room for dessert," she said, laughter in her voice.

Our waiter took our drink orders and returned soon with Jess' white wine and my bourbon. We told him what we wanted to eat. I'd opted for a T-bone steak. And then I wasn't sure what to say to Jess.

"Nice place," she said, looking around the room and fidgeting with her napkin. "Is this your first time here?"

"It's a new restaurant," I replied, taking a piece of bread and buttering it. I didn't add that there hadn't been anyone I'd wanted to bring here.

The waiter brought our salads, and we began to eat, delaying the need for any further discussion, but after a while Jess said, "Nina called before. I think my father told her to convince me to come back to Dorsey."

"What did she say?"

"That she needed me as much as he did. I told her to find herself a new accountant."

"You're that determined not to go back? You were a big fish in that little pond. Here, you're just another pretty face with some skills."

She smiled at that. "I've realized that I felt stuck there. Maybe even stifled."

"But you had your family and friends."

"They were really Nina's friends, and I was getting bored with them. They always talked about the same things, none of them of any consequence. Here, maybe I can find some meaning for my life."

The echo of my own thoughts lately made me realize that's what we're all after, to know we made a difference during our time here on earth.

"What made you decide to become a doctor?" she asked.

I hadn't told the story in a while, but she seemed to be a willing listener. So I related the experience in Japan that inspired me. It was true, more or less, although I'd embellished it over the years.

"You traveled a lot as a kid, didn't you?" she asked when I'd finished.

"Yes."

I was afraid she'd want to know about my parents and my life with them, but instead she asked, "What was your favorite place?"

I'd never thought about it before, and I just picked one rather than thinking now. "Egypt." It was true I'd had some good times there, and my father had been too busy to cause me much grief.

"Tell me about it," she urged just as our entrees arrived.

So while we ate I told her one amusing story after another. At least, she seemed to find them amusing. She laughed and her eyes sparkled, making me wonder what I'd ever seen in her sister.

By the time we got to dessert, crème brulee for her and Black Forest cake for me, we were both in a very good mood. I tried not to think that I hadn't had such a good time in ages, but it was true. I was sorry to have the evening come to an end, but eventually I had to pay the bill and take Jess back to the motel.

"I'll see you in the morning," she promised.

I hesitated briefly, but then took the plunge and kissed her lightly on the lips. Just that touch was electrifying. I backed off quickly and, without another word, made a beeline for my car. What the hell was I getting myself into this time?

–

By the time I reached my apartment, I'd caught my breath. I should never have asked her to work with my team, and I definitely shouldn't have taken her to dinner. Before I even took off my jacket, I filled a glass with more bourbon and collapsed on my couch, shaking my head to clear it so I could think straight.

I hadn't allowed anyone to get so close to me in a long time and, knowing what would happen, how it was bound to turn out, I should never have done so this time. I fell asleep on the couch, still in my clothes and jacket, trying to decide what I should do about it.

When I woke in the morning, there was a foul taste in my mouth, not that that was so unusual, but it bothered me this time. I finally removed the jacket and headed for the bathroom, rinsing my mouth out before I even brushed my teeth.

I peed and finally went to the bedroom to strip off my clothes and crawl under the blanket and sheet.

The next thing I knew, my phone was ringing. I tried to ignore it as usual, but I knew it must be pretty late, even later than I usually got into the hospital. I opened one eye and looked at the clock. Ten thirty. That couldn't be right, could it? I groaned but got up and returned to the bathroom, took a shower in the hopes it would revive me, and, after dressing, followed it up with about a gallon of coffee.

When I reached my office, it was empty and so was the conference room. I knew I couldn't pretend to have been at my desk all along. Someone must have looked for me. So I headed for Chris' room, not sure what I'd find.

Ellie was the only one there with the baby. I slid the door open and entered. "Where's your sister?" I asked.

"She left," Ellie replied. "She got a call about an audition for something or other and rushed back to New York."

I nodded once. "And everyone else?"

"Chase said he had to do some other kind of test on Petey. I thought you'd turned him over to that ear doctor."

"We think he's pre-diabetic and need to confirm that. It might affect how he's treated for his hyperacuity."

She nodded but I was sure she neither understood why nor cared.

"And the rest of my team?"

"Hadley and Foreman are working on something with Jess. Do you know what that's about?"

"We think we know what the genetic factor is that predisposes some people to the hearing problem that Christopher and Petey have, but we have to confirm that by testing other people with the same problem."

"But Jess isn't a doctor."

"We need someone to organize the study, keep records, that sort of things. It's something I think she's good at." I didn't really want to talk about Jess any more, so I went over to check on the baby. He was wide awake and smiling. When I stuck my tongue out at him, he seemed to smile and he reached out a pudgy hand to me. No whimpering, no wavering eye contact, we were making progress with the kid.

I heard the door slide open behind me and Jess' voice say, "You finally made it in."

I took a deep breath and turned to face her. I couldn't trust myself to answer. She was wearing an ordinary pair of slacks and a simple blouse, yet she looked fresh and pretty. I stared at those lips that I'd kissed the night before and had all I could do to stay right where I was. This was going to be a very long day.


	37. Chapter 37

_I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has selected this story as a favorite. I've sent private responses to everyone who commented, unless they disabled the private messaging feature, but thank you all once again._

_I'll be traveling next Thursday, so look for the next chapter of this story on Wednesday night. _

**Chapter 37.**

Ellie smiled at Jess and said, "Dr. House just told me you'll be organizing the study they're doing, Can you really do that?"

"I've already started," Jess replied.

I let the two of them talk about the project, and about Christopher's progress, while I decided what to say or do about Jess.

But eventually, just as I had come to the decision to act as if nothing had happened the night before, Jess asked, "Where'd Jackie go?"

"Back to New York," Ellie replied.

"She had an audition she just had to get back for," I said, trying, but not very hard, to hide my sarcasm.

"I don't really need her," Ellie insisted, chin raised and trying to look strong. "Now that Chris is getting better, we'll be fine."

"Nobody thought you did need her. But let me know if you want to talk or something," Jess offered.

Ellie smiled her thanks.

"Why are you here?" I asked Jess.

"I was looking for you. I wanted to ask you about something. For the project. No one else could tell me what the protocol is."

I couldn't imagine what it could be. By that point my team knew more about what they were doing than I did. "Go on," I urged.

"Not here. Let's leave Ellie and Christopher in peace."

We left Chris' room and walked toward my office, but I detoured to the conference room, and got myself a cup of coffee. "OK. Spit it out."

Jess studied my face. I don't know what she was looking for, but she didn't find it, so she just said, "We need to set up some sort of control group, according to Remy. How should I go about that?"

"Oh, so it's Remy now." I had to think. Since I never did a study like this before, I'd never had to create a control group. "Why don't you just use a group of patients and their families that come into the clinic over the next few days." They might as well be useful for something. I didn't think we'd have to pay them, maybe feed 'em a meal or two. "They should represent enough of a cross-section of people and they're convenient."

"That's a good idea!" she said, sounding surprised that I'd come up with it on the spot like that. Didn't she know what a genius I am? She took one more look at me, as if she was about to say something else, then shook her head and left.

I felt like I'd just jumped over a first hurdle but knew there were at least ten more ahead of me. How long could I stay cool, calm and collected with her around? I sat with my cane in front of me and my forehead resting on the hand that clutched it.

Next to interrupt my reverie was Thirteen. "Did Jess find you?" she asked.

"Yes. I told her to cull the control group from whoever she could find in the clinic."

"Not a bad idea," she allowed. "She really has a good practical head on her shoulders, doesn't she?"

I wasn't going to comment on that, and she knew it. "How many of the hyperacusis patients have agreed to participate?"

"It's running about 50-50, right now. Ten have agreed and nine turned us down flat."

"We need a lot more than that for persuasive evidence. What were the objections?"

"The usual ones about invasion of privacy and lack of time. We're beginning to find more patients to contact, though, so I think we'll eventually have enough."

"How far have you spread your net?" I asked. Maybe they'd limited themselves too much.

"Initially, we were focusing on the tri-state area, but we've widened the field to the entire eastern seaboard."

I nodded. I should have known that between my team and Jess they'd be thorough. "I'd say the minimum we need to start is fifty."

"That's what we've been thinking. I expect we'll have that by the end of the week."

"Now we just have to hope we don't have another patient that could take time away from the project."

"As long as Christopher is still under our care, I think we can avoid that," she said. "I do want to see this study to it's conclusion."

Before she left again, Jess returned from the ER. "I've run into a snag. Dr. Peters didn't object to having me talk to any of the patients there, but Dr. Adams put her foot down. I explained the situation without any success."

Hadley looked at me to see whether I had a suggestion. I had plenty and they involved sticking something long and sharp down Adams' throat or maybe even somewhere else, but I knew that would only get me and, by extension, my team in trouble. Adams never liked me so I probably wasn't the best person to handle this. But I knew she had a soft spot for Chase even though he was at least twenty years younger than she was.

"Have Chase talk to her," I told the two women. "She's more likely to listen to him than anyone else."

"Good to know," Jess said with a smile.

They left to find him. It was beginning to sink in how much work this study would take. Even with my team and Jess doing most of it, I'd have all sorts of decisions to make.

An hour later Jess was back to tell me that I was right about Adams. The minute Chase showed up, she became very cooperative, and they already had fifteen people for the control group.

I'd decided that the easiest way to avoid any personal interaction with Jess was to talk about the study, and about everyone else instead. Still, my curiosity was burning and I had to ask, "What did you want to tell me earlier?"

"What made you think..."

"Jess, it was obvious you had something to say."

She nodded. "When I was walking down the corridor to my room last night, there was someone coming out of Petey's room. It was Jackie. She rushed past me and I'm sure she didn't even know I was there because she was crying."

"So you weren't all that surprised to find her gone this morning."

"No. And I'm beginning to think the only reason she finally came here wasn't to see her sister and Christopher."

"It was to reconnect with Petey," I guessed. It made sense.

She nodded again. "The thing is, I don't know whether to bring it up with my brother or to tell Ellie about it. I don't want either of them attributing it to my dislike of Jackie."

"No reason they have to know. Just keep it between the two of us for now," I advised. "Anything else."

She hesitated, then shook her head. "No. I did want to thank you for suggesting that I work on this project. It's probably the most worthwhile thing I've done in my life."

"Yeah, well, wait until we prove what we hope to, and then you can say that."


	38. Chapter 38

_We're in New York for ten days, but I have a few minutes so I can post this week's chapter of this story. I hope I can post another chapter some time next week. _

**Chapter 38.**

I managed to avoid Jess for the rest of the morning, although it wasn't easy, since she was working with my team and was related to my patient. I hoped I could prevent a repetition of the night before, even though I could still taste her sweet lips, and couldn't get the image of her out of my head. And I knew that eventually I'd have to talk to her about it. I just hoped she didn't expect to have dinner with me again.

I made sure she wasn't in with Ellie and Christopher when I went to check on the baby that afternoon. The improvement in his ability to focus and respond was pretty remarkable. Ellie was talking to him quietly and he was smiling at her.

"Try singing to him," I suggested.

"I don't sing very well."

"That doesn't matter." How bad could she be?

But then she began to sing "Rockabye Baby" and my ears couldn't take more than a couple of lines of it.

"Maybe I'd better be the one to sing," I said and she stopped. I tried to think of something appropriate, but decided it didn't matter and sang, "Ain't She Sweet."

Christopher began to coo as if he was trying to sing along and Ellie laughed. I could feel laughter welling up inside me too. I was so intent on the baby's response that I didn't hear the door slide open and Jess walk in behind me, but then Ellie looked up at her and grinned.

"He seems to like your singing, House," Jess said.

'Focus on the medicine,' I told myself. "His treatment is working and he's become very responsive to people." I knew I shouldn't, but I suggested, "Why don't you give it a try?"

She walked over to the baby's bed and started by talking to him, but then began to sing. It was an old folktune, made famous by Simon and Garfunkle, "Scarborough Fair." Christopher's attention immediately shifted to her, and so did Ellie's and mine. Her voice was sweet and clear, perfect for the song.

How could something as simple as that obliterate all of my resolve? I felt my lips curve into a smile and I didn't even try to stop them.

Jess turned to Ellie and said, "He's such a little sweetheart, isn't he?"

Ellie was beaming. "Yes he is."

"Maybe we should recommend your voice as an alternative to pink noise," I said, trying lamely to be funny.

Jess looked at me. "Did you really like it?"

"You're surprised?" I asked.

She nodded. "A little. I didn't think it was your kind of song."

"What can I tell you? I've got eclectic taste in music, and you've got a good singing voice."

She stared at me for a full minute and I stared back. "There wasn't anything else I could do today, boss, so I thought I'd check in on Christopher and Ellie."

Hearing her call me 'boss' seemed so odd. "Have they finished with your brother's tests?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't even know. Whatever they find, he'll have to deal with it himself."

"Wiping your hands of your entire family, huh?" I don't know what Ellie made of our strange conversation, but I sensed some strange undercurrents every word Jess said and I couldn't explain them.

"Are they still testing him for diabetes?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "If he's diabetic or even pre-diabetic, we might want to test Christopher, too. He inherited one condition from his father, and I wouldn't be surprised if he inherited more."

"Oh!"

"Don't worry about it, Ellie," Jess said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "They've made tremendous progress in treating that in recent years."

"How do you know?" I asked. "I thought you professed a complete lack of knowledge about medicine."

"Our mother was diabetic. Didn't Petey include that on his intake forms?"

I shook my head. We couldn't have all missed it if he had. "Maybe he'd forgotten, or didn't know."

"Oh, he knew all right!" she said.

"Yes, even I knew it," Ellie said. "Although, when you told me about his test results, I didn't put two and two together."

"But why would he try to hide it?" Jess asked.

"You'll have to ask him that," I told her. "I've given up trying to figure him out."

"I think I will ask him. But not now. Ellie, you probably haven't left this room for hours. Why don't you come with me to the cafeteria for some food and some coffee?"

"Thanks, Jess. Maybe later." She walked over to the baby. "I want to spend more time with this young man while he's still awake." She lifted him up and held him close. No one was going to budge her until Christopher fell asleep.

"How about you, House?" Jess asked. "I'm buying."

I'm not one to turn down any free food, and I'd realized I couldn't escape whatever was happening between Jess and me, but I hesitated. I was in a place where I couldn't be sure of what might happen, or even what I might do or say. I hated to be so out of control of the situation.

"Go ahead," Ellie urged.

Finally, throwing caution to the wind, I said, "You're on. I hope you realize how much I can eat."

Jess laughed all the way to the elevator. While we waited for it, she turned to me and said, "You're full of contradictions, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're so confident in some areas of your life, like medicine, and haven't a clue in others."

"Are you laughing at me?"

"I'd never do that." She pressed her lips together as she thought. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Two people got off, and I held the door open with my cane as we got on. Finally, she continued. "I like complicated people, ones with many dimensions to their personalities."

I think that was a compliment. The truth was, I found her interesting, too. She wasn't the woman I first thought her to be. But I wasn't going to say anything. It would only encourage her.

The elevator arrived at its destination and we left its confines, walking silently to the cafeteria. I was hungry. That's not unusual. I often use eating as a diversion, a reason to keep my thoughts to myself. But I had a feeling Jess would find a way to get me talking again. I'd just have to come up with topics that didn't get too personal.

The cafeteria was crowded. Chase and Thirteen were sitting at a booth against one of the walls and appeared to be deep in conversation. Taub was at the other end of the room, eating with one of the pretty young nurses. I wondered what they'd make of me and Jess having lunch together, and why it suddenly mattered to me.

"So, I guess you don't want to talk about it," she said, walking toward the food line.

I thought I knew what 'it' was, and she was right. But I knew I wouldn't have a choice and I still didn't know how to play this, or what to say.


	39. Chapter 39

_We're still in New York for Thanksgiving, but I still wanted to post the next chapter._

Chapter 39.

I picked a roast beef sandwich and a bag of chips, a piece of pie and some coffee. I would have gotten more, but I decided I shouldn't take too much advantage of Jess, especially knowing I still hadn't decided how much I could pay her. She only got coffee and a couple of chocolate chip cookies. Looking at them, I wondered if I should have gotten the cookies instead of the pie, but I knew I'd focused on that to delay thinking about what was going to happen once we sat down with our food.

I had to think about it, though. I had to be prepared, have some diversionary tactics at the ready.

We found a table in a corner and I immediately stuffed some food into my mouth to postpone the inevitable.

Jess smiled at me and took a dainty bite of cookie. My eyes never left her lips as she chewed it and licked a crumb off the upper one.

I chewed my sandwich and swallowed without really tasting it.

"House?"

I blinked, took a deep breath and said, "What?"

She let out a sigh. "You've been acting very strangely. You seemed to be avoiding me earlier and now...well, I don't know what's going through your mind. Should I be worried?"

"About me? No, never."

"Look we've only known each other a few weeks, and I haven't a clue about how to interpret what you've said, or rather haven't said, today. I know only that you don't want to talk about last night, but I'm not sure why not." She was actually trying to figure me out, not jumping to any conclusions, just putting the pieces she had together.

I knew I could mislead her, or spin a yarn, but she was smart enough to know what rang true for me and what didn't. I realized, too, that I was beginning to value her impression about me, wanted her to admire me, to believe in me. I didn't know how to make that happen.

"House?"

"I'd like to forget last night," I finally said.

"Oh." She sounded very disappointed.

I shook my head, knowing what I said hadn't achieved what I intended. "It's not that I didn't enjoy having dinner with you."

"Double negative, huh?"

"Jess, I don't do relationships." There, I'd said it. Maybe that would explain me to her and that would be that.

"OK. I can accept that," she said. "But I'm sensing a connection between us. I don't know what it is or where it's going, but I like it." She shrugged. "If you don't sense the same thing, fine. I won't bring it up again."

"Do you really mean that?" It had been too easy.

"House, at least let me end this discussion gracefully."

I smirked. "OK. Case closed. Now, about your mother's diabetes."

"What about it?" She bit into another cookie, but her eyes never left my face.

"Obviously you didn't inherit it."

"I get tested every time I have a physical. So far, so good. Mom controlled it with diet, exercise and medication, so I know I could probably do that too if I develop it." She held up the cookie. "And you must know sugar isn't the only thing you need to limit. Other carbs, too."

I nodded. I'd been thinking about what she'd told me, that her mother had been diabetic. "I know you don't like to talk about it, but what was the exact cause of your mother's death? How badly was she hurt in the accident?"

"I'm not sure what it says on her death certificate. I know she had internal injuries from the accident." Jess sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "Do you think her diabetes had something to do with..." She stopped and put her hand to her mouth. I could see the tears in her eyes. This was a difficult subject for her and I was sorry I'd brought it up.

"Just something I'm tossing around in my head. Let's talk about something else."

She smiled wanly at me. "Guess we both have touchy subjects, huh?"

"Has Ellie said anything about what she'll do when Christopher is released?"

"Not to me. Her parents probably want her to return to Dorsey and stay with them. That way she'd have help with the baby and could go back to work at Boomers."

Now that we were on a safer topic, I felt myself relax. "I wonder what Chase will think about that."

"I expect you'll want her to bring Chris here for an examination periodically. Besides, Dorsey's not that far. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if he chose to visit them sometimes."

"She could do a lot worse."

"I hate to say this about my brother, but she already has."

I continued to eat my sandwich. "Is she going to divorce him?"

"I think so, although I don't think she's told him yet. But how can he object? He basically abandoned her and Christopher." Jess looked into her coffee cup, but there was none left. "I'm going to get another cup. Want more?"

I nodded. "And a couple of those chocolate chip cookies." I'd already started on my pie, but the cookies would make a good chaser.

I watched her get the cookies and then fill two hot cups with coffee. She must have paid enough attention to know exactly how I liked mine. I watched her intently until she returned, but then I focused on a forkful of pie.

"Unless you need me to work on anything this afternoon, I think I'll head out and look for a place to live," Jess said.

I nodded, not saying anything. I wanted to offer to go with her, but forced myself to think of reasons I shouldn't. I finished the pie and started in on the cookies, noticing she'd gotten another one for herself, too. They were really good, better than the pie.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow morning," Jess said, breaking the cookie in two, but not eating it. I could sense she wanted to say more but held back.

"OK."

Neither of us had said another word when we finally left the cafeteria, and when we parted in the lobby, all Jess said was, "See ya."

I knew it would be a long afternoon and evening.

The first person I saw when I reached my office was Taub. The height-challenged doctor sat at the table in the conference room, drinking coffee. "Why aren't you doing something useful?" I demanded.

"I don't see you working." Taub wasn't going to be intimidated easily.

"You haven't carried your weight at all in this case! Not that you weigh that much."

"House, we know what's wrong with the baby. Now it's just a matter of checking to see whether the treatment is working."

"And you think that excuses you?"

Taub just glared at me, stood and left the room. I sighed, and withdrew to my office.

Taub must have spread the word that I was on the warpath, because no one approached me the rest of the afternoon. It didn't take me long to drain the bottle I kept in my bottom drawer. Finally at five thirty, Wilson dared to knock on my door and enter.

"Got plans for dinner?"

I just glared at him until he walked away.


	40. Chapter 40

_We're back from New York and I've set aside my NaNo story for a little while, so I'll be working on this and my other stories._

**Chapter 40.**

I fell asleep in my office but woke later, feeling famished. On my way out of the hospital, I stopped at the men's room to splash cold water on my face. I wasn't in the mood for a pub or restaurant, so I just picked up a pizza on my way home, deciding to forgo the six-pack of beer I usually got with it.

Once I'd entered my apartment, I collapsed on the couch with the pizza box and opened it. I had to admit, to myself at least, that this game with Jess couldn't go on.

After two slices of pizza, I was feeling a little better, and my mind was clearing. By the time I was half-way done with the third I'd come to a conclusion. Medicine wasn't the only way to have meaning in my life. I dropped the crust into the box and stood, still a little unsteady, I'll confess, grabbed my cane and my keys and headed back out.

I didn't even think about the fact that Jess might have gone out to eat. I walked through the motel lobby, acknowledging the nod from the desk clerk, and down the corridor to her room. I knocked twice and waited for her to open up.

I had to smile when I saw her, with her hair in a towel, turban-style, and her body encased in a wraparound terrycloth robe, horn-rimmed glasses perched on her cute little nose. Does anyone wear those things anymore? Well, I guess Jess did.

"I took a chance you were in."

"You could have called," she said, backing up a step to let me in.

"I guess you've eaten."

"I had a burger in the motel coffee shop." She was studying my face the way she'd done a few times that day. "I was just settling in for the night."

"Do I have pizza sauce on my mouth?" I asked, wiping my lips with the back of my hand.

She shook her head and smiled. "I'm just having a hard time figuring you out. So why are you here, House?"

Good question. Now that I was, I wasn't sure myself. "I guess I was feeling lonely." Once I said it, I knew it was true. But I'd never admitted that to anyone else in my life before!

"Where's Wilson? Or any of your team?"

"None of them look like you, not even Thirteen."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment." A smile crossed her lips, then she looked at what she was wearing, and removed the glasses. "Even now?"

"Sure." And then I didn't know what else to say.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked. "There's a little coffee machine in the bathroom, but unfortunately this room doesn't have a mini-fridge."

"I thought you might want to go get something, but since you've already eaten..."

"Let me get dressed and we can see what kind of desserts they have in the coffee shop."

I nodded. She rummaged in her suitcase and removed some clothes, then stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

I walked over to the window, but there was nothing outside to look at. Jess had left her suitcase open, so I took that as an invitation to snoop. It was full of clothes, some of which I'd seen on her recently, and believe me, they looked better on her than folding neatly away. Before I could look further, I heard the bathroom door opening, and moved quickly back to the window.

"Ready," she said. She'd put on a pair of black slacks and a red sweater, and looked better than any dessert we'd find, but I restrained myself. Maybe if I played my cards right. The only thing was, I wasn't even sure what game we were playing.

We walked down the corridor to the lobby and into the coffee shop. There weren't many people there at that late hour and the waiter told us to take any table we wanted, then brought us menus. I wasn't all that hungry any more, but I could always eat something. I ordered another roast beef sandwich and coffee, wondering if I was getting into a rut. Jess just wanted coffee, then decided she'd have a toasted English muffin with it.

"House, maybe we should just clear the air, say what we want to, and then put it aside."

I nodded. It was basically what I wanted, even though I didn't think it was actually possible, but there really was no alternative, not at this point. But I didn't know how to start.

Jess sensed my hesitation, and took the first step. "I find you very attractive," she said. "And I'm sensing a connection between us. I don't know what that connection is, or whether we should even pursue it, but I can't deny it. And then you say things like you did earlier today. "

I nodded again. "I've been trying to deny that connection but you're right. It's there."

"And if I'm going to continue to work on this project, we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"It's unavoidable."

"So, how will we be treating each other? As colleagues? I guess I can accept that. As friends? I certainly hope we are."

"Jess, I'm not good at relationships, even platonic ones, but..." I couldn't go on. My mouth was very dry and the words were stuck in my throat.

"We can always give it a try," she suggested.

"And when I mess up? When I start to push you away even harder than I did this afternoon?"

"Who says that it won't be me doing the pushing? But...House, I think it's worth any heartache in the future to see where this can go now." And then she clammed up, as if she thought she'd said too much.

The ball was in my court. I took a drink of my coffee and looked her in those amazing green eyes of hers, full of intelligence and humor. "OK," I managed to say. "Let's give it a shot."

She smiled and those eyes began to sparkle.

"Just as long as neither of us is counting on it lasting," I finally added.

"Right."

I suddenly felt a weight lift from my shoulders. That had to mean we were doing the right thing, didn't it?

And then she said, "I'm going back to Dorsey day after tomorrow," and the weight was back. "Just to get my things," she rushed to add. Had she seen something in my face? People didn't usually read me that well. "But I'll be back as soon as I can." She'd been holding on to her coffee cup but put it down on the saucer with a clatter. "I know it won't be easy for us, and that we won't work everything out tonight, but I'm willing to try if you are." She let out a breath, pressed her lips together and waited for me to speak.

I told myself it couldn't hurt to agree, but I was having a hard time getting the words out. I focused on Jess' face and that tipped the balance. "I'm willing." I said.

I hoped there'd be many more times I could make her grin the way she did then, because it was so beautiful and infectious. Yeah, just _trying_ to make a go of it with Jess was going to be fun.


	41. Chapter 41

_Thanks for reading and leaving reviews for this story. Remember, if you've disabled personal messages, I won't be able to reply, but I want you to know I enjoy reading what you have to say._

**Chapter 41.**

We were ready to release Christopher on Wednesday. His progress had been remarkable. Just the use of the pink noise generator had made a tremendous difference. There were no signs that he was diabetic like his father, either, but Ellie would have to have him tested periodically.

She'd decided to take him home to Dorsey. Her parents made the drive to Princeton on Wednesday morning to pick them up. Ellie hoped to get her apartment and her job back, although she knew she'd have to rely on her parents to help her to take care of the little boy.

"Bring him in every four to six weeks so we can check on him," I told her.

She smiled at me. "Thank you for everything, Dr. House. You have no idea how much this means to me!"

It was an odd feeling knowing that a patient's mother was that appreciative of what I'd done, that it meant so much to her.

Chase helped Ellie bring Chris down to the lobby and then to her father's car, that was waiting for them outside. Watching them go, I knew I'd done what I'd set out to do, and yet it wasn't quite enough. I went back to my office to reflect.

Solving this case had brought a deep satisfaction to me. It also got the ball rolling on the study my team was doing to link the disease to a genetic marker. But even that wasn't enough for me. Being a well-known diagnostician had never done it for me. What more did I want?

Well, there was also Ms. Jessica Giordano. She was still in Dorsey. Every time I began to think she'd been convinced by her father and sister to stay there, she called to tell me she'd be back in Princeton soon. It was just taking longer to wrap things up than she expected. She still planned on finding her own apartment near the hospital, but I was hoping I could talk her into moving in with me. Sometimes that seemed liked a great idea, and others like the lamest of lame.

I saw Chase through the glass between my office and the conference room. He'd tried to hide his disappointment in Ellie's departure by working intently on setting up the interviews with the hyperacusis patients, but I'd seen the look on his face when she and the baby got into her father's car earlier that day. He was probably already counting the days until she brought Christopher back for his first appointment.

I barged into the room. "Whaddya say we get good and drunk tonight?"

He smiled wanly at me. "That would be a good idea except I've decided to stay away from the booze for a while."

"You get religion or something? Wait, scratch that. You get religion _again_, I meant to say."

"I could go for a big steak," he offered.

"As long as I don't have to be a teetotaler like you."

"What, you're not going to demand that I pay?"

"I thought that was a given."

He closed the file he'd been looking at, put it on top of some of the others, straightening the pile as he did. "What are we waiting for?" he asked, rising from his chair.

I didn't know what possessed me to go to dinner with him. Maybe it was like the time we went bowling together. We weren't friends, certainly not in the way I was friends with Wilson. And he wasn't a good substitute for Jess. But at least the conversation wouldn't be as boring as it might have been with Foreman or even Taub.

"So what are you going to do about it?" I asked him once we were settled into a booth at the steakhouse nearest the hospital. The faux leather banquettes were slippery but still comfortable, and I settled back while we waiting to place our orders.

He didn't have to ask what I was talking about. "The divorce won't be final for a while. Meanwhile, I guess I'll get to know Ellie a little better."

"She'll be in Dorsey," I pointed out.

"It's only forty-five miles away."

"Forty-eight."

"There's no need to rush into anything," Chase said. "You know how long my last marriage lasted!"

I nodded. So he wasn't ready to commit yet. That was OK, although I wondered how Ellie would feel if she knew.

A waitress came over to pour ice water in our glasses and take out drink orders. She was a pretty thing, but I noticed that Chase wasn't as interested as he might have been before he met Ellie. She wasn't my type either.

"We'll be starting the study next Monday," Chase said. "We've got our minimum fifty patients and plenty for the control group, as well."

"Do you think we'll get anywhere with this?" I asked.

"Absolutely."

I knew he and Thirteen were on board with making the most of the study, Taub had expressed some interest, but Foreman wasn't enthusiastic at all. It was surprising to some extent, because if we proved what we were setting out to prove, it could make his career as much as that of the others. Maybe he thought we'd fail to substantiate the connection we thought was there. As the waitress delivered our drinks and took our steak orders, Chase went on. "I hesitate to ask, but are you having second thoughts about this? Because if you are, Remy, Taub and I would still want to go ahead with it."

I shook my head. "I'm still curious about what you'll find. Maybe it's not the kind of puzzle that I usually tackle, but I have a feeling it's also more complex than we're saying."

"House, why exactly are we doing this?" Chase asked. "You've never done a study like this before, as far as I know. And it isn't just to spend more time with Jess Giordano, because that wasn't even a possibility when you decided to pursue it."

"What do you think people will remember about you in the future? Your descendants, other doctors, patients you've treated? What will they write on your gravestone?"

"You want your life to have long-lasting meaning?" Chase interpreted the response. "Is that what this is about?"

"We diagnose patients, arrange their treatment, and then they're out of our lives. We don't mean anything to them. Two, five years from now, they won't even remember our names even though we saved their lives."

"You've got an excellent reputation, at least as a doctor, I can assure you that your patients appreciate what you do for them," Chase argued.

"Oh, sometimes they thank us immediately afterwards, and then they go about their lives as if nothing happened. They expect us to do our job, to succeed. We certainly hear about it when we don't."

"Isn't it enough for us to get that job done? To do our best, every time? They come to us because no one else can do what we do for them. I, for one, am proud of what I've done, every diagnosis I've gotten or helped to get."

"Solving the puzzle used to be enough," I admitted. "But now...maybe I'm getting old."

"You want to leave a legacy. I can understand that."

"Yeah, maybe you do get it." We dropped the topic as our food arrived. Somehow I felt a little better talking to Chase about all of this. He was one of the few I'd found whose mind worked like mine.

"So when is Jess coming back?" he asked after a while. "Because once we start on Monday we'll need her to compile the results."

"Soon," I said. It was all she'd said, but maybe once I told her the work would begin on Monday, it would prompt her to hurry back. I certainly hoped so. Maybe she'd help me figure this out.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42.**

Jess finally returned that Thursday afternoon. She called as soon as she checked back into the motel and agreed to have dinner with me. Her brother was still around but she didn't want to deal with him. Nobody did by that point. He wasn't a particularly cooperative patient, according to the doctors who were working with him. I decided it was no concern of mine.

We'd been given a case that morning. It was too simple to warrant my skill, or even that of my team, and it was a breeze to diagnose the patient, then turn her over to the doctors in cardiology. So I was free to leave work early. I didn't want to seem too anxious to see Jess, and yet I was. And the need was much greater than any desire to appear nonchalant.

She was in a different room at the motel, but the desk clerk remembered me. He told me right away how to find her. She must have been as anxious as I was. The minute I knocked at the door, she pulled it open. The smile on her face was like the sun breaking through the clouds to brighten my day. I don't know what I was expecting to feel but it sure wasn't the exhilaration that seeing her caused.

"I'm back!" she said.

"Unless you're an apparition, I can see that."

She chuckled. "It's good to see you too."

"So, you're here for good?"

"That's the plan. Don't just stand there, c'mon in," she said, holding the door wide open and reaching for my arm to pull me in.

She didn't have ask me twice. Once I cleared the door, she closed it and threw her arms around my neck. I wasn't quite prepared for that, but her nearness, the sweet scent of her hair, were intoxicating.

"I thought we were going out to dinner." My voice sounded strange, even to me.

"There's plenty of time," she said, taking my hand and leading me further into the room.

Did she really want what I thought she wanted? What I hoped she wanted? I noticed for the first time that she'd already turned down the bed. Here goes nothing, I thought as I pulled her close and pressed against her.

"I've missed you," she said. "Seems that you've missed me too." She'd learned to do the eyebrow wriggle, from me I suppose.

I just nodded. My logical mind was telling me to take it slow, but everything else was rapidly pushing me to continue. I'd dropped my cane by then and my hands had a mind of their own, sliding down her back to her firm buns, my lips sought her mouth and my tongue slipped between her lips. She tasted of minty toothpaste. Good thing I liked minty toothpaste.

I felt her fingers on the back of my neck, stroking gently. Her caresses were so much more sensual than any hooker I'd ever employed. Somehow we found ourselves closer to the bed, close enough that the slightest push would have her sprawled across it. But I didn't have to push. Jess just backed up and fell onto the sheets, pulling me with her.

Rolling onto my side, I slid my hands under her lavender top and pushed it up over her bra. She tugged it off, then began to unbutton my shirt, to seek my bare skin under it and inside my jeans. And that touch, skin to skin, set off sparks.

She stopped to kiss my eyelids, then my lips again, as if she couldn't get enough of them. She kissed the old scar on my neck, all along my collarbone, and then continued down the center of my chest.

I rested my hand on her head, smoothing her hair, as her head moved lower. Her tongue licked the skin around my navel. Interesting sensation. When she pushed down my jeans, followed by my briefs, I had to breath deeply to slow my heart because it was threatening to burst from my chest. She continued, but only for a while, a hint of of what was to come.

She slipped off her pants and I cradled her in my arms as I rolled her on her back again and nudged her thighs apart with my knee. I braced my weight, fearing I could crush her, then growled low in my throat because one of my fantasies with her was coming true.

She was thoroughly aroused, her hair fanned out across the pillow, her eyes dark with passion.

"I've been thinking about this a long time." I didn't want to rush, though.

She watched my face as I stroked her breasts and nibbled her neck, trying hard to maintain what control I still had.

It was time to kiss every inch of her body, but once I reached the sweetest spot, rather than go on, I joined with her. The first tremors of ecstasy surprised me by their intensity, and it just went on and on. It wasn't something I wanted to analyze, just enjoy.

Afterwards, we lay side-by-side, staring up at the ceiling. "As I was saying, glad to see you too," she finally said as her breathing and heartbeat returned to normal.

Should I confess to how much I'd missed her? Or did I even have to?

"Bet you worked up an appetite," she said, rolling on her side and lifting her upper body on her elbow.

"You know me. Always ready to eat."

"Another minute," she promised, straightening her arm and snuggling against my side. "Where should we go?"

I'd passed a chain steakhouse on the way to the motel, and filed it away for future reference. It wasn't far away. "How about Lone Star?" I suggested.

"Yum, steak!"

One of the things I liked about her was her appetite. Not many women knew how to eat, or at least admitted that they liked to.

Eventually, we were able to move again. We showered and dressed, then headed out. The restaurant was less than half a mile away. The parking lot was pretty full, but I managed to get a spot not too far from the front door. We only had to wait ten minutes for a table.

"So, I saw Ellie and the baby after they got home," Jess said.

"I hear she's back in her apartment and working at Boomer's again."

"Chase told you."

"They're taking it slow."

"He may want to, but I don't know about her," Jess said.

"Then why did she go back to Dorsey?"

"She's of the opinion that absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Hmm."

"What, you don't think it's true? Look at us! I was only gone a few days and look what happened when I got back."

"That was just pent-up lust," I insisted.

"Believe what you want." There was laughter in Jess' eyes as she changed the subject. "So, the project gets underway on Monday. I think I'm going to have to find a place to live this weekend."

The idea of inviting her to move in with me was still warring with my conviction that it wouldn't be the best idea I ever had.

"Maybe Remy could help me find something,"Jess went on. "Unless you know of some place."

"You can stay with me," I blurted. It was worth it for the stunned look on her face.


	43. Chapter 43

Best wishes to all of my readers for a wonderful holiday season and the happiest New Year.

**Chapter 43.**

Jess stared at me like I'd lost my head, or grown a second one. "You're joking, right?"

"Yeah, I know. Lame idea."

"No! I mean, I was just surprised that you'd..." She inhaled and exhaled. "It's your place, your private domain." Her voice was rising as she went on. "I didn't think you'd want to share it with anyone!"

"Well, not just _anyone_."

She shook her head and said, "This is huge! I'm going to have to think about this. It changes...House are you sure this is what you want?"

"No. But we decided to take chances, right?"

"Well, that's taking a chance all right." She studied my face. "You're serious about this?" she asked again and let out her breath slowly. "Well, if you can take that much of a chance, so can I. OK, let's give it a try."

I suddenly felt elated. I hadn't thought that having her agree would affect me that way, but it did. Maybe it was the right thing after all.

Jess smiled at me a lot as we finished our dinners. We shared a huge piece of chocolate stampede cake with vanilla ice cream, spooning some into each other's mouths. I'll admit, I was smiling too. I couldn't help it.

As we left the restaurant, she said, "I'll check out of the motel in the morning."

I suppose it was a good idea for her to sleep on what we'd agreed, see whether she'd change her mind, or I'd change mine. As if she'd read my thoughts, though, she said, "I'm not going to change my mind."

"OK. I'll take you back to your room." We were almost at the car. It was still warm but clouds obscured the moon. I hoped it wasn't going to rain.

I saw her nod. "I'll need to get a few things for tonight and the morning."

I stopped walking and turned to face her. "You're coming home with me tonight." It wasn't quite a question.

"Well, yes. Isn't that what we decided?" Her pretty face looked up at me expectantly. The dark eyes reflected the lights from the restaurant and the passing traffic.

"Um, yeah. Sure." I started walking again.

When we reached the car and got in she said, "House, if you'd rather I stayed at the motel tonight..."

"No, actually I'd rather you moved in immediately." Before I changed my mind, let my doubts take hold. All that good food I'd just eaten was churning in my stomach.

Her smile came quickly. "Good." We drove to the motel and got out, then I walked her to her room, following her inside. "I'll just pack what I'll need." She went into the bathroom and came out with some toiletries, filling the smaller of her bags with them and a few items of clothing. "I've got a trunkful in my car," she said. "I guess I can get it when I check out tomorrow."

I wondered how much she had, and where we'd put it all in my place, but it was too late to think about that now. What would be, would be. She stopped at the front desk to tell them she'd be vacating the room in the morning.

We got back in the car and drove to my place. When I let her into the apartment, I realized I had to give her a key. There was a lot more to having someone move in than just asking them and having them say yes. I watched her as she looked around the place.

"It's really very you," she said. "I don't intend to change that." If she expected me to feel relieved, I wasn't so certain I was. She took her bag to the bedroom and opened it, removing the toiletries she'd packed so she could put them in the bathroom.

Through it all I didn't say a word, just continued to watch. Now that she was here, some of my uncertainty was returning.

"Where can I put my clothes?" she asked.

I limped over to the dresser and opened a drawer that I knew wasn't very full. Transferring the contents to the other drawers, I said, "Will this do for now?"

Jess smiled. "Perfect." She quickly filled the drawer, neatly placing her very feminine clothes where mine had been jumbled together. When she was done she looked at me. "This is going to be a kind of adventure."

She had a strange way of looking at things, but I knew that if I accepted her view, it might be easier than worrying about when something would go wrong.

"We should probably decide on who uses the bathroom first in the morning and who makes the coffee," she said.

"Actually I was thinking we'd shower together, and I certainly wouldn't mind if you made the coffee." I just hoped she knew how to make a good cup of brew.

"Oh. OK."

"OK? You're not going to argue?"

"And waste time? Time we could spend on other things?" She moved closer and I knew she wanted more of what we'd done just a few hours before. I wondered whether I was up to the task.

It turned out that I was. We took our time this round, slowly removing each article of clothing and learning each other's bodies, the sensitive spots, the things that excited each of us. I found that when I gently kissed a particular spot on the back of her neck, her entire body relaxed, and when I rubbed it, she purred. Her fingers were magical, easing the constant throbbing in my leg at the same time they excited other parts of my anatomy.

This was going to be one of the perks of having her around, a source of comfort and pleasure all wrapped up in a lovely package. Would it be enough? I didn't know. Still it wasn't the only good thing we shared.

Then I reached the point where I stopped analyzing it, and let myself enjoy the moment. Once we'd matched our rhythms, the tempo of our lovemaking accelerated, both caught up in the sensations that were building. We fell onto the body just before our bodies united and moved together as one, yearning for that ultimate pleasure.

Later as we lay in each other's arms, Jess said, "Thank you."

I moved my head to search her face. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For making me feel so good. For making an effort that I know isn't easy for you. For inviting me into your life."

I stared at her. There was much more than gratitude in her eyes, and for once I was speechless.


	44. Chapter 44

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend, and that you're all looking forward to the New Year.

**Chapter 44.**

Waking up with someone else in your bed, when you've mostly slept alone for years can be quite disconcerting. But as the realization that the night before hadn't been a dream, that Jess was now sharing my apartment and my bed, came quickly.

"G'morning," her soft voice murmured as her hand began to stroke my face. I opened one eye and looked at her, seeing a smile on her lips and in her eyes.

"'Morning," I mumbled.

"Did someone say something about showering together?"

"I think that was me," I said. "But first I have to pee." I extricated myself from her embrace and reached for my cane to steady myself as I got up, knowing she was watching my naked form, I could only hope in admiration.

"I'll go start the coffee," she called after me. "Then I'll join you in there."

When she entered the bathroom, she'd donned a pink kimono, but quickly shed it as she reached in to turn the faucets on.

"The water gets hot pretty quickly," I told her, flushing and rinsing my hands.

Once the temperature was to her liking, she stepped into the tub, and I followed. I'd been afraid she'd set the water temperature too low, but it was actually perfect. We soaped each other and the knowledge I'd gained the night before about her most sensitive spots came in handy. I had her smiling in no time. But sex in the shower was still not an option, because I'd have to stand for too long, so we rinse off and toweled each other dry and returned to the bed for another round.

Later, we put on robes and went to the kitchen. It turned out that Jess knew how to make a good cup of coffee, but there was very little in the apartment in the way of breakfast food. I would have been content with some leftover Chinese that was in the back of my refrigerator, but Jess decided we should go out for breakfast. So we got dressed and left.

It was Saturday, and besides retrieving Jess' car we didn't have anything planned. We went to a diner halfway between the apartment and the motel for breakfast. The coffee wasn't as good as hers, but the diner had dynamite pancakes and pretty good sausage, too. I guess I'd gotten used to having meals with Jess. It didn't surprise me at all how much she could eat.

"So, I gather we have enough patients and a large enough control group for the study," she said before putting a forkful of home fries in her mouth.

"Yes. There are fifty patients, with varying levels of hyperacusis and ranging in age from about ten to the sixties, I think."

She nodded, her mouth now full of egg. She chewed and swallowed before saying, "I think I'm more anxious than ever to see how this study turns out. It could help a lot of people besides Christopher."

"If we have a better handle on the genetics behind who will or won't develop the condition, we can start treatment much sooner and sometimes that makes the difference between a good and bad outcome."

"You've never done anything like this before, have you?"

"I'm used to working with one patient at a time, finding all of their symptoms, and looking for the connections between test results and the symptoms they show."

"So this is a change of pace for everyone," she concluded.

"What are you getting at?"

"Just that we'll all be learning the ropes at the same time."

"I pick my people well. They're up to it."

"Does that include me?"

"You better believe it." I saw that she was finished with her food. "More of this wretched coffee or should we go?"

"Let's go."

We continued on to the hotel. I went in with Jess to get what was left in her room. However, before we could leave, Petey came to the door.

"What are you doing now?" he demanded.

"I'm taking my things and checking out," she told him.

"But where are you going? You're not going back to Dorsey again, are you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I've moved in with Greg."

"You're kidding!" But he could see she wasn't. He looked at me and shook his head.

"I understand you're giving your doctors a hard time," Jess said, probably to change the subject, although it appeared that Petey didn't know what to say next anyway.

"They're idiots!"

"I agree with you," I told him. "But they do know what they're doing in your case." And he was as much of an idiot as his doctors.

"I'm not going to do what they say just because they say so!"

"Why not? No, don't answer that. Well, it's been fun chatting, but we gotta go." I motioned to Jess to finish getting her things together.

"We'll see you around," Jess told her brother as she zipped up her suitcase and started to roll it to the door.

He looked confused, but that wasn't unusual for Petey. We left him in the hallway just outside Jess' former room and went to the front desk so she could check out. She stowed the suitcase in her trunk and followed me back to the apartment, parking her car not far from mine.

When I reached her car, she was taking the suitcase out of the trunk along with a small box, but I could see there were several other boxes left. "I'll get the rest after I put this stuff away," she told me, slamming the trunk closed. At least she hadn't expected me to carry anything for her. Still, I wondered what was in all of the boxes, and not for the first time, where we'd put all of her belongings.

Back in the apartment, she stuffed as much of her clothing into the one drawer I'd given her. "Is there anywhere I can hang the rest?" she asked. The suitcase was still about half-full.

My two closets were stuffed. Sure, I could get rid of some of the clothes I hadn't worn in ten years, but I wasn't ready to do that yet. "I guess we'll have to get a dresser or something for you."

She nodded, closing the suitcase again and putting it in a corner of the room. The box turned out to contain about two dozen books. Jess looked around the room, smirked, took one out and put it on the nightstand, then put the box next to her suitcase. Maybe we'd need more than a dresser for her.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45.

We spent most of Saturday at the apartment, watching movies and a baseball game. It turned out that Jess was a Yankees fan, if you can believe that. But I didn't hold it against her.

We ordered a pizza for lunch, a large one, and still it wasn't enough for both of us. "I think we'll have to go to the market for some food," Jess said.

"You're not going to fill my refrigerator with salad stuff are you?" I pouted.

"No, I mean bread and sandwich meats, cheese, maybe one of those frozen lasagnas, and chips and salsa."

"And beer. Can't forget the beer."

"Or the donuts."

At least my eating habits wouldn't suffer with her around.

By dinner time, we'd decided to go out, and not just because there wasn't anything in the apartment worth eating. I liked being out with Jess, seeing the looks on people's faces when they saw me with this hot young woman. What man wouldn't?

We decided on Indian food this time. Jess liked hers hot and so did I. There were some things we totally agreed on. We ordered a lamb curry and chicken tikka masala, and shared. When she ate as much as I did, I decided we needed even more food, so we had some biryani. And dessert, of course, some yummy rice pudding.

"That should hold you for a few hours," she said with a grin.

"What about you? You're the only woman I know who can eat me under the table."

"Do you mean that literally?" she asked with a straight face, but couldn't keep it up, bursting into hysterical laughter.

"You're not supposed to laugh at your own jokes," I reprimanded. It didn't stop her and I had to join in. I don't think I ever laughed as much as I do with Jess.

She finally regained control of herself and asked, "So what do we get first? Food or something for me to keep my things in?"

"Well, if you don't mind living out of a suitcase and some boxes for a while, maybe we should hold off on the furniture," I said, without really thinking about it. Or maybe I had. It had such a permanent feel to it, more of a commitment than I was willing to make.

She studied me, suddenly sobered. "OK." She forced herself to be upbeat and say, "Food it is, then. Where's the nearest market?"

Uh-oh. I realized I'd said the wrong thing there, but how could I make it right? I thought about it all the way to the supermarket, following her around as she bought hamburger and pork chops, pasta, some crusty bread, butter, cheese, salami, a humongous bag of corn chips, hot salsa, and a giant chocolate bar. A smile was creeping back across my face. "What kind should we get?" she asked when we reached the beer.

By the time I'd paid for the groceries, I'd decided what we had to do next. "Let's get this food home and into the refrigerator. There's something else we have to do today."

Jess brow furrowed. "OK."

We took the bags out to the car and drove back to the apartment. It didn't take long to put everything away. The refrigerator looked only half empty when we were done, but that was better than completely empty.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Just come along," I told her, heading back out the door. She seemed willing to go with me without even knowing where.

We drove in the opposite direction from the motel. I knew exactly where we were going. It wasn't until I pulled into the parking lot that Jess did too.

"It's a closet store, one of those places with shelving and boxy things," she said in surprise.

"Just what we need for all your belongings," I said, smiling at her. So maybe it wasn't what she had in mind, but it would do with the little space we had.

"I guess it'll work," she said, shrugging. "Let's go look at some shelving." We entered the store and were surprised by some of the things that were on display. "Actually, this stuff is kind of neat!"

It was, too. Units with shelves, drawers and even a place for shoes. Bookcases that doubled as end tables and low chests that doubled as seats. Units of every height and width imaginable.

"This will fit neatly where my suitcase is now!" Jess exclaimed. It was a corner unit with open and closed shelves. "And this one won't take up too much space either." She pulled open the doors of a narrow piece to reveal a rod for hanging clothes, and above and below it, drawers. "I think I can get by with just these two."

"Are you sure all of your stuff will fit?" I asked.

"Positive! Now we have to find out if we can get them in a finish that won't clash with the furniture you already have."

I hadn't even thought about that. Furniture was furniture. Why did it have to match? It just had to be functional.

But Jess was already telling a salesman what she wanted, describing the furniture in my bedroom. She'd remembered details that I'd never even noticed.

The man went off and came back with a book of brochures to show her and Jess quickly found exactly what she thought would be best. It was all happening faster than I'd imagined, but I'd been the one to bring her here, and it felt good somehow to make her so happy her eyes shone.

The units Jess wanted could be delivered on Tuesday. We arranged a time in the evening, knowing we'd be busy at the hospital until then. Jess had a big smile on her face when we left the store while I was still trying to convince myself it would work out. She wasn't invading my space or remaking the apartment with her own taste.

We drove home with Jess chatting away, oblivious at first to my reservations. When she finally noticed that I wasn't even trying to smile, she said, "You _are_ OK with this aren't you?"

What could I say? "We needed a place to put your stuff and I thought of the store, so, yeah, of course, I'm fine. Really fine."

"It's not as if I was getting some kind of ornate furniture or changing your drapes or anything."

"I said it was fine."

"Your lips, those wonderful lips, formed the words, but your eyes and tone said otherwise," she said. "I can cancel the order."

"And then you might just find that ornate furniture that will demand that you change the drapes. You know what? I think maybe we should get another piece once we see how well these fit in. One for the living room."

Jess' grin was back, brighter than ever. I knew I just had to continue to make those kinds of adjustments if I wanted to see it all the time.

It had been a busy evening and it was good to get back to the apartment, settle down together on the couch and watch some more TV. But after a while I could see her eyelids drooping. "Let's get you to bed," I said, standing and pulling her to her feet. "Tomorrow's another day. Let's see what new mischief we can get into after a good night's sleep."


	46. Chapter 46

_I'll be out of town for a few days, but I hope to post another chapter when I return next weekend. Meanwhile, here's the next one._

**Chapter 46.**

We spent Sunday morning in bed, and the afternoon the way we'd spent Saturday afternoon, in front of the TV. But as the hours ticked by, I began to wonder how the change in my relationship with Jess was going to affect things at the hospital.

Jess must have noticed my disquiet because she asked, "What's wrong?"

I could have have deflected, I'd perfected the art over the years, but I thought it might be worrying her as well. "We should decide what we're going to say tomorrow."

"You mean to your team." She nodded. "I've been thinking about that too." She shrugged. "Maybe we shouldn't say anything."

"I know that I can hide things from them. I've done it many times before, although Chase and Thirteen have become harder to fool of late, but do you think you're that good an actress?"

"If I'm motivated," she said. "It's really none of their business." She paused to think. "I'll be busy tomorrow setting up files for each of the patients and the control group, so we won't be spending that much time together."

"That might not be enough."

She slipped her arms around my waist and looked up at me with a grin. "We will pull it off."

"You do know that they suspect something already. Maybe we need to try some slight of hand, or throw them a red herring, to distract them."

"What would you suggest? How can we get them off the scent?"

"For one, we could pretend to hate each other, or at least, to have had a disagreement of some kind."

"So, in addition to the fact that we'll both be too busy, we should give each other the cold shoulder when we're in the same room, we shouldn't speak, or better yet, act antagonistically towards each other? That might work," she said, nodding.

"Or one of us could pretend to be interested in someone else." That was also an option, although I wasn't crazy about it.

"Now, who else would I be interested in? Chase? He's clearly taken by Ellie."

"How about Thirteen?" I asked.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, I know you said she swings both ways, but I don't!" She was so adamant about it, I dropped that idea.

"OK, How about Foreman?" That brought an immediate frown. "Wilson?"

That one she considered. "I don't know. Am I his type?"

"Well, you're not as needy as they are, but you're pretty and sexy. Smart too."

She grinned. "Why, thank you, Dr. House!"

I realized, maybe too late, that I'd just complimented her. But she deserved it, so I didn't try to take it back. "So you'll consider coming on to Wilson?"

"Only if you can guarantee it won't backfire."

She had a point, but I shrugged. "Whatever happens, Wilson can handle it."

That settled, we went back to watching the baseball game. The Yankees were losing to the Red Sox, making me smile, but I saw that Jess was frowning. "It's all right," I told her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "There's still time for them to pull out the win."

She looked me in the eyes and said, "But you'd prefer it if they didn't." She had that right. "I know, it's only a baseball game," she said.

I studied her face, wondering why it was so important to her, certainly more important than a Yankee loss would be to me, since I didn't have a bet on the game. But that didn't mean I was going to start rooting for the Yankees. Still, I shrugged and said, "Doesn't matter to me." It was as far as I was willing to go.

Jess seemed to relax. "Good, because if we're going to fight, I'd hoped it would be over something more substantial."

"Then again, I hear make-up sex can be awesome."

She laughed, either at what I said or my wiggling eyebrows. Then she shook her head, kissed my cheek. "Dr. House, I don't think you'll ever stop surprising me."

She surprised me too, all the time, especially by her reactions to the things I said or did. As an example, she picked that moment to snuggle against me and close her eyes, forgetting the ballgame. I wasn't sure what to make of that, so I held her and enjoyed the closeness. I think we both fell asleep before long. All I know is that when I woke up, she was still nestled in my arms, the game was over, and I was starving.

"Jess?" I whispered against her ear. "Jess, do you think you can get up now? My arm's going numb and my stomach is making growling sounds."

"Hmmm," she mumbled as her eyes opened. "What time is it?"

"Probably close to seven thirty. I can't read the watch on the arm that you've got trapped, but it's getting dark outside."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She quickly shifted, freeing my arm, but not letting go completely.

I checked the time. "Seven forty-five. Let's order in." I was in no mood to get dressed to go out.

"Um-hmmm," she said, nuzzling my chest.

"I'm going to have to get up to place the order," I whispered directly into her ear.

"Gimme another minute." She nestled deeper.

I smoothed her hair and kissed the top of her head. It was kinda nice to cuddle with Jess, made me feel warm in places that had been frozen for years.

Jess finally lifted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. "Pizza or did you want something more substantial?"

"Do you like Mexican? Because I know this place that does dynamite fish tacos. And they deliver."

"I've never had those before," she admitted. "I'm willing to try them. You wouldn't steer me wrong, would you?"

"You'll love 'em." I extricated myself and stood with the help of my cane, walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone. Garcia's was on my speed dial. I added a six-pack of Tecate to the tacos, and some nachos in case we needed more food after we finished with the fish.

The food arrived in about thirty-five minutes. The aroma emanating from the bag was enough to make me salivate, but Jess didn't look as enthused. I took out the tacos and handed one to her. "Just give it a try."

She made a face, but unwrapped it and took a bite. Although she didn't spit it out, I could see she didn't really like it. I knew there'd be things that I liked that she didn't, but I'd never expected this would be one. I probably should have gotten her an enchilada or something.

"How about some nachos, then?" I asked, digging through the bag for them.

"Sure, why not?" She took the chips and cheese sauce, salsa, and olives. Now those she seemed to enjoy. In fact, she ate all of them up, not leaving any for me. Then again, I had all the tacos, so I guess it worked out.

Now that we had some food in us, I decided there were a few more things we had to settle about living together. "Jess, there's something we have to talk about."

"Oh-kay," she said, carefully putting all of the trash in the bag the food had come in. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing to be alarmed about," I hastened to tell her, seeing how worried she looked. "What are we going to do about the address you list on your employment forms?"

Jess shrugged. "I thought I'd just use my old address in Dorsey."

He smiled. "You know, that might fly!" She even had a brain.


	47. Chapter 47

I struggled a bit with this chapter and finally had to rewrite a big part of it today.

**Chapter 47.**

Monday morning we had a quick breakfast together before Jess left for the hospital in her car. I wasn't about to go in until my usual time. But that gave me time to think about the apartment and the changes I was making because she was now living with me. It wasn't just the additional furniture or the half-full refrigerator. There was another human being sharing the premises with me, and suddenly the place seemed awfully small.

When I arrived at the hospital at my usual late hour, I found the conference room empty. I smiled to myself, knowing the entire team was busy with the study in an exam room they'd been given, and I went straight to my office to plot and plan.

At eleven thirty, Chase came to tell me that they'd done the preliminary tests on the first four patients and three of the control group.

"Keep me informed," I replied and stood, then walked past Chase, and straight out the doorway to knock on Wilson's door.

"It's not lunch time yet," Wilson complained.

"But I'm hungry," I groused, setting his mouth in a petulant frown.

"Give me fifteen more minutes," Wilson bargained.

"Ten," I insisted.

Wilson shook his head but he said, "OK. Ten." So I plopped myself down on the couch in Wilson's office while I waited, causing Wilson to shake his head again.

Ten minutes later, the two of us left for the cafeteria. We picked out our food and I steered the way to a table not far from where Jess was having lunch with Taub and Thirteen. The minute she saw us, though, she rose and made her way over. Ignoring me as we'd planned, she smiled at Wilson and said, "It's good to see you again, Doctor Wilson."

"Miss Giordano, um, Jess, good to see you too. I understand you're working with House's team."

"His team, yes." She flashed a glare at me, then smiled at Wilson again. "And that means I'll be staying here in town." She left it at that, knowing from what I'd told her that my friend was almost sure to bite at her lure.

"Then I guess I'll have a chance to get to know you better." Wilson was clearly pleased about that.

Jess and I both hid our desire to cheer. "I'd like that," Jess said. "Well, I'd better go finish my lunch so we can get back to our project."

"I'll see you around, then," Wilson said, watching her walk away. "She's really something, isn't she?"

"All women are really something to you," I said. "I guess she's pretty, if you're into the type."

"I thought you liked her," Wilson replied. "Weren't you the one to suggest her for the project?"

"She's organized. That's not the most attractive quality in a woman."

"She's built, too." Wilson said with a leer.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling Wilson to keep his eyes and hands off Jess. "If you like 'em curvy."

"You know me too well."

I was already rethinking the plan Jess and I had set in motion. Maybe there was a better way. Unfortunately, I still couldn't think what that would be. "Give it your best shot," I forced himself to say, then turned my attention to my food. Unfortunately, the Reuben, made just the way I liked it, tasted like cardboard.

Wilson watched me for a couple of minutes, then let it drop while he bit into his turkey sandwich. "So, how are they doing with the study?" he asked after two or three more bites.

"Who? Oh you mean the team?" I shrugged. "No problems so far." I didn't know that but figured that if there were, I would have heard about it by then. "They've just gotten started today."

"This is quite a departure for you."

I shrugged again. "Thought we'd try something new for a change."

"Well, I hope something comes out of it."

I studied Wilson's face. Maybe he really did wish me well with the study. "Thanks."

After lunch, I went back to my office. There were a few things I wanted to check out online, and since we didn't have a patient, and the team didn't need me for what they were doing, this might be the perfect opportunity.

After a short time, I began to scowl. My search results were definitely not to my liking. Sighing, I tried another approach but with just as disappointing results.

I swiveled my chair to face the windows and rested my hands and chin on my cane as I thought about what I might my options were. Most of them went against everything I'd purported to believe, but it looked like that couldn't be helped. Once I came to that decision, I rose and strode out of the office to the elevator. Without telling anyone where I was going, I left the hospital, getting into my car and driving out into the suburbs of Princeton.

I cranked the AC up as high as it would go in my old car to ward off the heat and humidity outside, but I was still sweating when I reached my destination. I drove around the subdivision for a while. There were few people out, just an older woman watering some flowers in a window box and a toddler riding a tricycle around in circles on a driveway. Most of the houses were small and well-kept, lawns mowed, trim painted. The cluster of one- and two-story condos in a cul-de-sac at the end of the main road were also well cared for. The epitome of suburbia, I thought, in all of it's boring sameness.

I was still thinking about whether this was the only viable option as I drove back to the hospital. It was too drastic a change. But the searches I'd done hadn't turned up any other alternatives.

I didn't know what Jess would think about what I was planning. Should I tell her right away, or hold off? I just didn't know.

As it turned out, she was bubbling with how well our plans were going. When she arrived at the hospital that morning, she found Chase and Thirteen in the team's conference room, chatting about what each of them had done over the weekend. "How about you?" Thirteen had asked her. "Did you find a place to live?"

"Yes, at least temporarily," Jess replied. "Once I've been here a while I might find something better." She hoped that would throw them off the scent without telling them where she was living. "So, who will we be working with first?"

They'd pulled out the files for the first patients they'd be examining and set-up a list of questions they still had to ask, symptoms they needed to look for, and tests they needed to run. So far so good.

"We'll need a DNA analysis of the patients and the control group, with special attention to the genome we suspect is associated with hyperacusis," Chase said.

Taub joined them as they were leaving the conference room. They'd been surprised to find Foreman waiting with the first group of patients, talking quietly with a young man who seemed to be hanging on his every word. Foreman seemed enthusiastic about what they were about to do. They'd been able to handle at least two people at a time with all of them helping. They were off to a great start.

In the afternoon, she'd run into Wilson again. He'd definitely taken the bait, and asked her to have a drink with him after work. She'd begged off, saying she had to get some things for her new place, but she knew he was interested, and she could reel him in whenever she wanted.

I wasn't too sure I wanted her to.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48.**

I decided it was premature to share my tentative plans with Jess. Instead, I took advantage of her good mood and made love to her before dinner.

Afterwards she said, "That was the crowning touch to a red-letter day!"

"Happy I could oblige," I said.

"And just for that, I think I'm going to make you Jess' spaghetti pie for dinner."

I'd never heard of spaghetti pie, but the name conjured up all sorts of delicious thoughts. "Sounds good."

"It is. Wait until you taste it!"

She slipped out of bed, and pulled on her robe with nothing underneath. She seemed so comfortable doing it, that I wondered for the first time how many other relationships she'd had before. Not that it mattered. She was with me now, right? I pushed the thought to a dark corner of my brain.

While Jess padded to the kitchen in her bare feet, I took the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Like Jess, I was wearing a robe and nothing else when I joined her finally in the kitchen. She was already busy putting together a concoction I never would have thought of, but that turned out to be delicious.

The next morning as we ate breakfast together, I found Jess studying my face. "What's wrong?" she finally asked, putting her fork down.

"Nothing," I insisted.

"Oh, don't give me that, House! You've been even quieter than usual. You didn't even comment on your omelet."

It was true that I'd made several comments about her spaghetti pie, not all of them complimentary, but somehow she knew that I'd enjoyed it. Maybe it was the three portions I ate. The omelet was just as good, full of tomatoes, onions and cheese and covered with a spicy chile sauce. But I couldn't tell her that I was rethinking our plan to focus everyone on a possible romance between her and Wilson. And I'd already completely dismissed the idea of moving to a house, even a condo, out in the 'burbs. It just wasn't me.

"Does it have something to do with our plan?" Jess asked, cutting through my thoughts. "Because, frankly, I'm feeling uncomfortable leading Wilson on."

I wasn't surprised that she'd think about how hurt he might be when she turned him down. Inwardly, I was pleased she was thinking this way. Let her call the plan off. Still, I said, "He'll live through it."

"Maybe," she said, then went back to eating. "Did you want more?"

I looked at my plate, surprised to see it scraped clean. I must have been hungry. "Finish yours first."

She quickly ate the remainder of her omelet and went back to the stove to make me another. "I think I'm going to tell him that there's someone else," she called to me.

"Someone else?" What was she talking about.

"We can throw people off with a mysterious man just as easily as with Wilson," she elaborated. "And I'd feel better about it."

I would too, but I couldn't say so. It was my idea, wasn't it, and I couldn't admit I was wrong.

"OK," I said as she brought me another plate of eggs.

"Greg, do you know whether there are any larger apartments in this building?" She was ready to change the subject. Her question wasn't an option I'd considered. Maybe that was the answer after all.

"I don't think there are any vacant," I said, concentrating on my food so she wouldn't see the look in my eyes. "I can find out."

"This area is very convenient to the hospital, but I think you'll agreed. We need more space." So she'd been thinking along those lines, too. I knew I should have talked to her about what I'd been investigating.

I cleared my throat. "I was looking online yesterday for nearby condos and lofts, ones with two bedrooms and larger kitchens."

The astonishment on her face was quickly replaced by a grin.

"Not so fast!" I held up a hand. "I couldn't find anything that met my requirements."

"Oh." The grin turned upside down.

"And then I went to look at a subdivision about ten miles out in the country, a mix of single-family houses and condo units."

This time she waited for the punchline.

"Can you picture me in suburbia, with an SUV, a dog and a white picket fence?" I asked. "Metaphorically, even?"

Jess shook her head. "You're an urban kind of guy. And frankly, I never thought the suburban life was right for me, either."

"Well, then, maybe you have an answer?"

"I guess if there's nothing in this building, and your search didn't show any nearby, we'll have to wait until something opens up."

"And what do we do meanwhile? It's cozy here, but even I'll admit that we need more space. I'd hate to have to talk to Bonnie about it."

"Who's Bonnie?"

"Wilson's wife number two. She's probably the worst real estate agent in this part of New Jersey, but she'd know if there is anything available."

"So you're going to call her?" Jess asked.

I sighed. "I think I'll have to. I just can't let on to her why I want a larger place."

"Because she'll go running to Wilson?"

"Maybe. As long as it's a possibility..."

"House, how long do you want to keep us a secret?"

The truth was that I liked to know things that other people didn't know. This would be the granddaddy of secrets to keep. And I especially didn't want to have to listen to what Wilson and my team would say if they knew about me and Jess. "As long as possible."

"OK. However you want to play it, I'll go along. And meanwhile, I'll have to work out what I'm going to tell everyone about my mysterious boyfriend." She looked at her watch. Right now I have to get going! Will you be here when the furniture arrives from the closet place?"

"They said they'd deliver it between nine and eleven this morning. I guess that gives me a great excuse for going into the hospital even later than usual."

"Well, I'll see you later." She kissed me on the lips, a noisy smack that made me smile. "Sorry I have to leave you with the breakfast dishes."

I had no intention of doing the dishes. Instead, I piled them with the frying pan in the sink. While I waited for the furniture delivery, I checked for Bonnie's number and called her.

"What game are you playing with me now, House?" she answered.

"You're sounding more and more like Wilson every day," I replied. "And this is a legitimate call."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know of any available largish condos within ten miles of the hospital? Something with a decent sized kitchen and large master bedroom?"

"The last time you came to me about a new place, it was a scam," Bonnie reminded me. "You really wanted to pump me for information about James."

"Yeah, well this time I'm really looking for a larger place. This one's beginning to feel way too small."

"I'll look around for you," she replied. "But if this is some kind of game..." I don't think she knew what to threaten me with, so she left it at that.

I thought about asking her to keep my search from Wilson, but I knew that would only motivate her to ask him what I was up to.

"How about apartments?" she asked, so she was taking me seriously.

"I'd prefer a condo for the tax deductions, but I'd consider an apartment."

"It might take me a couple of days to find you some possibilities," she warned. "I'll get back to you."

"Great."


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49.**

I arrived at the hospital at eleven. It wasn't my fault that the delivery guys were so late or took so much time to set everything in place. At any rate, before I could open the door to my office, I was accosted by Wilson. I thought that Bonnie couldn't have called him yet, so this had to be about something else.

"House, we need to talk."

"I'm late. Come by later. Maybe after lunch, or even better, next week."

"House, I need your advice."

That stopped me short. Wilson was asking for my guidance about something? Had the world gone off its axis?

"What do you know about Jess Giordano?" he went on.

"Jess?" I shrugged. "Not much, other than that she's a spoiled little rich girl who's playing at helping my team."

He looked surprised. "Did the two of you have some kind of falling out?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed pretty cozy with her when you returned from Florida, and you did recommend her for the study."

"I told you already. She's organized and has half a brain in her head. Perfect for the grunt work that has to be done."

"And then I noticed there was a decided chill between the two of you yesterday, but she's...she's so hot! Something had to have happened to turn you against her, and I want to know what it was."

"Is that what this is about? You want to know what I have against Ms. Giordano?" I narrowed my eyes at him and smiled. "You're really interested in her, aren't you? Well, I'm afraid you're in for a let-down. I get the impression she's got a boyfriend."

"Where'd you hear that?" He was definitely surprised.

"It's just my superior deductive skills at work," I said loftily.

He was frowning by then. I wasn't surprised that he was really interested in Jess, but decided we'd made the right move by changing our plan to have her go after him. It could have been ugly. I spotted Jess approaching out in the hall but, seeing Wilson there, she turned and walked the other way. Luckily he didn't see her.

"Cheer up," I told Wilson. "Come buy me an early lunch."

"You just got here."

"That doesn't mean I'm not hungry."

He shook his head. "I have to go check on a patient." He turned and walked away, shoulders slumped. I guess I made his day.

He wasn't gone long before my phone rang. It was Bonnie. "I found a couple of places you might like to see," she said proudly.

It made me realize I'd be seeing them alone. Later we'd somehow have to find a way for Jess to see them too. She was supposedly looking for a place, but would it be something like the places Bonnie had in mind for me? And how could we arrange for her to be taken to see them? We'd have to find a way. Meanwhile I said, "Can I see them later this afternoon? Busy now with doctor stuff, you know."

"Oh, of course," Bonnie said. "I remember how hard it was for James to tear himself away from the hospital at times."

"Give me the address and I'll meet you there at five."

Once I was finished talking to Bonnie, I sent a text to Jess saying, 'Bonnie found two I'll see at five'. Over the next hour, through a series of texts, we made our plans. She'd find a way to tell Wilson, in utmost secrecy, that she was seeing someone, and that she and her boyfriend were looking for a place where they could move in together. It wasn't too far from the truth. We were both sure that Wilson would steer her to Bonnie, and then Wilson and Bonnie would delight in having Jess and me get into a bidding war for one of the places.

I'd always schemed on my own, hadn't needed a partner in any of my previous plots, but I must say, it was fun to strategize with someone who had the same appreciation of deception as I did.

At four-thirty I left my office. Wilson accosted me just as he had on my way in earlier. "Where are you going so early?" he asked.

"I don't have a patient, so I'm going home."

"What about the project?"

"My team has it under control. If they needed me, they'd let me know."

He shook his head, but for once I wasn't disappointed that he was disappointed in me.

"See you tomorrow, Wilson," I said, walking away from him. He didn't see the smile on my face.

I met Bonnie outside the building of the first condo she wanted to show me. It was in a series of two story townhouses on a quiet side street between the hospital and downtown Princeton.

"These were built ten years ago," she began her sales pitch. "There was only one previous owner, and it's well-maintained." She unlocked the door and we walked inside.

Going from room to room, I saw she was right. It was clean and in good shape. And very bright. Quite a contrast to the darkness of my place. "What's upstairs?" I asked, indicating the stairway from the entry hall. The place was certainly roomier than my apartment, but I'd wanted to avoid stairs, if I could.

"A master bedroom suite and a smaller bedroom that can be used as an office. Did you want to go up?" she asked, pointedly looking away from my leg and cane.

I hesitated, but I needed to see the entire place, so I started up with Bonnie right behind me. I looked in the master suite first, imagining my furniture and the pieces we'd bought for Jess filling it. But what I was really fantasizing about was what we could do in that room...

I pulled myself out of that daydream before Bonnie noticed. She was nattering on and on about the carpeting and the woodwork. I walked over to the bathroom and smiled when I saw the jacuzzi tub. It went straight to my must have list for any place we picked.

"It's possible," I said, leading the way back down the stairs. "What's next?"

"The next place is a little older, and might need some paint, but it's all on one level." She got into her car, and I followed her in my own to a street closer to where my apartment was.

Again, she was right. Slightly shabbier than the first place, the second still had a kind of charm. Hardwood floors in some of the rooms matched the woodwork. The rooms were slightly smaller but certainly bigger than mine. And this place, too, had a jacuzzi in the bathroom.

"You have to see the kitchen!" Bonnie gushed.

The kitchen was the only room that had been updated. New stove and range, French door refrigerator, even a high-end dishwasher. I could picture Jess and me standing side-by-side at the stove, preparing a meal.

It was time to get down to the bottom line. "How much?" I asked Bonnie.

Less than the first place, it cost more than I'd wanted to spend, not that I didn't have it. I took one more look around. Somehow this place already felt like home.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50.**

Jess was already at the apartment when I showed up. She was in the kitchen, preparing our dinner. I unceremoniously grabbed a fork and speared a meatball from one of the pots, bubbling away on the stove.

Jess chuckled. "If I thought it would do any good, I'd tell you to wait until your served." I half expected her to wrap my hand with the wooden spoon she was using to stir the sauce.

"Hungry," I said around the mouthful of ground beef, spices and sauce so that it came out as 'unry'.

Jess knew it was no use trying to change my habits, and frankly didn't even want to try. "How were the places Bonnie showed you?"

I swallowed. "Both were OK," I allowed. "And both had jacuzzi tubs."

"Definitely a selling point. We'll have to see whether Bonnie shows me the same places."

"You talked to Wilson?"

"Yes. Followed our script and he responded just as we thought he would." She frowned. "He did seem a bit disappointed when I confirmed that there was someone else. Surprisingly, he didn't ask any questions, but I'm sure that will come."

"Our favorite neighborhood Oncologist has a thing for you."

"Just like his BFF?" Jess teased.

"Well, not exactly like. So he sent you to Bonnie?"

"Yes. I called her but all I got was her voicemail."

"Because she was busy showing me our new home."

"So you already decided?"

"I'm leaning toward one," I told her. Normally I'd make my decision without consulting anyone, but I was just beginning to realize I couldn't do that anymore. "I'd like to hear what you think." I just hoped she'd like the same one I did, but nothing was certain. How could I stack the deck? "I'll just say that I'd prefer that I didn't have to climb a flight of stairs every night."

Jess wasn't fooled. "And one of them has stairs. Gee, how am I going to figure out which one you picked?" She rolled her eyes.

"That is if Bonnie shows you the same two." That was the key and worth repeating.

"That's true. Well, there's no use talking about it until it happens." But that seemed to be a cue for her phone to ring. She glanced at it. "Looks like Bonnie's not wasting any time calling me back." She pressed the speaker phone button so I could hear what the realtor had to say.

"Hi, is this Jess Giordano?"

"Yes, it is. Bonnie? Wilson said I could call you. I hope it's OK. Um, my boyfriend and I are thinking about moving in together, but he has a small place, and I'm new in town. Just moved into a furnished efficiency apartment. So we need something, say with two bedrooms."

I marveled at how well she could prevaricate. The best lies are based on truth.

Bonnie must have replied enthusiastically, because Jess picked up on her mood and said, "Do you really? I'd love to see them! I don't want to say anything to my boyfriend until I have something to show him, so it'll just be me."

She listened for a few more minutes, then said, "Let me get a pen and paper." I handed both to her, and she went on. "When can I see them?" Another wait while Bonnie went on. "How about lunchtime tomorrow? About noon or twelve thirty?" Jess nodded as she listened. "OK. I'll see you then."

I took the sheet of paper she'd written on. Both of the places I'd seen were on it, along with a third a little farther away from the hospital. "Let the bidding war begin!"

"You do realize that will jack up the price."

"Not too much. We can decide on the point where one of us drops out."

"What if Bonnie insists on meeting my elusive..."

"...and nonexistent..."

"...boyfriend."

"We'll handle that when the time comes. In the meantime, I think this will be fun."

"You're sure Wilson won't tumble to what we're doing? He's not stupid, you know."

"But he has preconceived notions and they blind him to the truth sometimes. I think, between the two of us, we can keep him in the dark."

"OK." Jess went back to her pots and soon announced, "Dinner is served."

The food was hot, tasty and plentiful. "Where'd you learn to make such good spaghetti and meatballs?" I asked.

"We're Italian, remember? My father's mother was the best cook I've ever met. She taught me a lot about cooking."

"Why didn't your father start an Italian restaurant in Dorsey?"

"Actually, there was one, but after Grandma died it was never the same. I suppose I could have made a go of it, but I was just finishing my accounting degree at the time and wasn't interested. So my father added a bar and turned it into Boomers."

"And the people of Dorsey didn't complain?" I wondered.

"When my father decrees something, no one would dare to."

"It almost explains why Petey ran off the first chance he had. Added to the way your father treated him after the accident."

"I've been meaning to ask you—you seemed to have some thoughts on what happened that day."

I shook my head. "The accident was clearly the fault of the driver who hit your car. I just wondered whether Petey's ailment had something to do with his reactions, whether it prevented him from avoiding being hit. And I also wondered about your mother, whether there was anything medically wrong with her that contributed to her death."

"Oh!"

"I'm still wondering." I shook my head. "I don't have anything to go on, just some speculation. We may never know."

"Petey's still being uncooperative. I don't think he wants to face the fact that there's anything wrong with him and especially not more than one thing."

"He doesn't care that he passed his hyperacusis on to Christopher, does he?"

"At least my father thinks of his children as an extension of himself. Petey doesn't think about his son at all."

"How did we get onto the topic of your brother?" I suddenly realized I'd finished all the food on my plate. "Is there more?"

Jess smiled. "I guess you really did like it."

"You know me well enough by now. I don't lavish praise indiscriminately."

She stood and took my plate. When she returned, it was refilled, and I dug into my second helping.

"So, a jacuzzi tub is a must? And no stairs?" Jess turned the conversation back to the apartment.

I nodded. "The two places I saw were brighter than this."

"We can always hang heavy drapes."

"I knew it would eventually come down to drapes! No, I guess I don't mind a bit more light."

"Greg, are you still sure you want to do this? You've been in this apartment for a long time, and you're not very amenable to change."

"As long as you're there with me, and as long as I have my books, my piano, a few other things, I think I can manage."


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51.**

The next day started the same way. Jess went into the hospital early in the morning, and I followed later. But since I didn't have to wait for the furniture delivery guys, I made it in just after ten.

Chase was waiting in my office. "We've hit a snag in our study."

"What kind?" I dropped my bag on the floor and sat down in my desk chair.

"The preliminary testing on three of the hyperacusis patients shows that they don't have the same genetic markers that Petey and Christopher do, and at the same time, one of the control group does."

I nodded. "That doesn't prove anything. Wait until you have more complete results and have tested additional subjects."

"Should we also expand the groups?"

"Before you do that, take a look at other chromosomes. Maybe we were wrong about which one is the culprit."

"OK. I'll keep you posted."

"You do that." I watched him go and settled down at my desk. This was a bit of a setback. I hadn't realized how much I'd been counting on this study being successful. Was my team missing something, and was it time for me to take a more active part? I decided to give it another day or two before I stepped in but I couldn't ignore the fact that it bothered me.

My next visitor was Wilson. "You were right."

"I'm always right. What was I right about this time?"

"Jess Giordano has a boyfriend."

I hadn't thought out what my response to that should have been, but I went with a 'told you so' smile, and left it at that.

"She came out and told me," Wilson went on even though I didn't ask. "I wonder where she met him, and what he does."

"Does it matter?"

"No, I suppose it doesn't. She's looking for a place for the two of them."

Again, whatever I said would have been wrong, so I said nothing. There was no telling how much Wilson had learned from Bonnie about my own search for another place.

"I sent her to Bonnie," he said.

Now that was something I could comment on. I rolled my eyes and guffawed. "The worst real estate agent in central New Jersey? You didn't do her any favors."

"What do you care?"

"I don't. Maybe she and Bonnie deserve each other."

Wilson narrowed his eyes at me. I wondered what he was thinking. It would depend on how much he knew or thought he knew. If I waited long enough, he'd tell me.

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"You always think I'm up to something, don't you?"

He shook his head and walked away.

I quickly dismissed Wilson's suspicions. Instead, I turned my attention to what Chase had told me. We'd been so certain that there was a correlation between the chromosome defect and hyperacusis, but if patients known to have the disease didn't have that genetic flaw, what did we have?

I pulled up the records on Petey and Christopher, even though I'd decided earlier that I'd stay out of it for at least a while longer. Nothing had changed since the last time I looked at them. They both had the same defect and the same disease. Petey was also diabetic, of course, and Chris wasn't, and yet there were very few differences in their gene sequences. I'd have to think about this.

Somehow the morning passed. I may have fallen asleep at my desk. But my growling stomach told me it was lunchtime. Wilson must have heard it, too, because he knocked at my door, stuck his head in to ask, "Lunch?"

I had to do something while I waited for a report from Jess on her apartment-hunting, and I always liked it when Wilson bought me food. The cafeteria was crowded, the way it always was at this time of day, but we managed to make it through the line and find a booth along one wall.

Wilson eyed my tray and asked, "Are you going to eat all of that?"

"Do you know me or what?"

"A Reuben and a hamburger? You usually have one or the other. Granted, you also eat half of my food."

"Only when you get fries. You can keep the cottage cheese."

"Does this mean I get to eat all of my own lunch today?"

"No promises," I said around a mouthful of meat and bread.

I would have bet I'd get the long-suffering look, but Wilson surprised me. "OK."

"OK? Is that the best you can do?"

He didn't answer, preferring to turn his attention to his food. He was no doubt determined to eat as much of it as possible before I took any.

We were both just finishing when my phone began playing 'Sexy And I Know It'. I could see that puzzled Wilson.

"What did you think?" I asked Jess, then stood and walked away so he wouldn't hear my conversation. All the while, I tried to think of how I'd explain the call, and the ringtone. When I knew I couldn't be overheard, I repeated, "What did you think?"

"I liked all three. The one you didn't see was larger than the others, all on one floor with two bedrooms and a small office. But it didn't have a jacuzzi tub, so I dismissed it. I saw the one you liked after the other two, and I felt very comfortable in it, even without any furniture."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Why had it been so important for her to like the same one I did? Or was she just saying that? No, Jess wasn't the type to do that.

"How much did she tell you it would be?" I asked.

"Two-fifty."

"So she quoted you fifteen thousand more than she quoted me. I wonder why?"

"And more important, what do we do about it?"

"I guess you can offer her two-forty. We can see what she says, and whether she calls me to tell me someone else is bidding on the place."

"OK. Will do. And then I'm heading into the hospital."

I told her about what Chase told me earlier in the day.

"Yes, Thirteen told me before I left to meet Bonnie. Is that as bad as it sounds? Is it a deal breaker?"

"Not necessarily. But we might need a new approach. You understand statistics. What would it take to prove our case?"

"That would depend. In some situations, anything over fifty percent proof is enough, but I have a feeling in medicine it needs to be quite a bit higher. I'll have to do some research. Also, the margin of error for the tests you've done would be a factor. Are they ninety-nine percent certain or better?"

"There should be a standard for that. Have Chase check."

"As soon as I get back to the hospital. I have to go now. See you later."

"Bye." I ended the call and slowly walked back to the table, where Wilson waited with an expectant look on his face. Did he really believe I'd tell him who I'd been talking to?

"Something up?"

I shook my head. "Nothing important. I just had to get the ball rolling on something." My answer was almost as vague as his question.

He waited for me to go on, but when I didn't he knew enough to drop it. That was why it was so surprising when he asked, "Are you really looking for a bigger apartment?"

"I knew Bonnie couldn't keep her big mouth shut."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

How could I spin this to my advantage? "Ever since I moved back, after living with you in the loft, my place has seemed too small."

"Uh-huh."

"You don't believe me? Why else would I want to move? You know I'm not into change."

"I don't know what your motivation is, but I'm not sure I believe you. As you're always quick to point out, everybody lies."

Obviously I hadn't convinced him, but that was OK, since he still hadn't a clue about what was going on. And he never did ask about the ringtone. Maybe he'd never heard that song.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52.**

Wilson didn't press the issue as we took the elevator back up to our offices. When I walked into mine, Thirteen was waiting for me.

"Chase told you about the snag we hit this morning?" she asked.

I nodded, staring at her so she'd feel compelled to go on.

"We've gotten the complete DNA sequences for our patients and they're even more confusing. They all have defects in the same chromosome after all, but not at the same site, and the defects themselves are different. Some are deletions, some translocations."

"But they all manifest hyperacusis?"

"Yes."

"In the same way?"

She hesitated. "You think there are variations in the syndrome or possibly even different syndromes that have been lumped together under the same name? And that they're related to the differences we're seeing?"

I was glad I didn't have to spell it out for her. "We have a lot still to learn about how chromosomes control the functioning of the human body. There've been other diseases that have been shown to actually be several different problems, but initially look the same. Who knows what's possible? Maybe some of the patients have the same abnormality and the same version of the disease, different from all the others."

"We're going to have to fine tune the analysis of our data and wait until we have results for several more subjects. Jess is looking into the statistical implications of what we're finding, but we'll need to consider more specifics."

"Good. This might turn out to be even more interesting than we first thought."

"It already is." She turned and left.

A thought had occurred to me while I was talking to Thirteen. Before I did anything else, I started a new computer search, this time on the genetic defects linked to other diseases. Most illnesses had a range of severity, even if they couldn't be separated into different diseases. Had anyone ever reported related variations in the defects? If that was so, we were on the right track.

A brief search didn't turn up anything definitive, but I wasn't giving up that easily. I turned off the computer, knowing I'd come back to it later. First I had something else to do.

I took out my phone and called Bonnie.

"House! I was just about to call you!"

"I've been thinking about the places you showed me yesterday, and I think I want to make a bid on the one on Irving."

"Yeah, well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." I could picture her biting her lip as if she was afraid to break the news to me. "Someone else has made an offer on that place."

"Then I'll make a better offer."

"Better than two forty?" Bonnie asked.

"Is that the current bid? Two fifty," I said without hesitation. I'd already decided we wouldn't go higher than two seventy-five, but we could take our time getting to that figure.

"Well, since she made the offer first, I'll have to let her know," she warned.

"You do that and then get back to me." I smiled as I closed the connection. It wouldn't be long for her to call Jess, and then call again to tell me about Jess counteroffer of two fifty-five.

My next visitor was totally unexpected. Petey Giordano burst through my door, obviously looking for a fight. "OK, what's going on?"

"What d'ya mean?" I had no idea what burr had gotten under his saddle this time.

"I hear there's a study going on about this disease I supposedly have, but no one ever consulted me about it!"

"You're suddenly a doctor?"

"No. But I'm a patient. This is supposed to be some big deal study and I want in!" He banged my desk with his fist for emphasis.

"I have no objection. The more subjects we have, the better. And we already have enough results for you that we won't even need to do any more tests." I didn't tell him that I thought it was appropriate for him to be included. After all, he and his son were the basis for us to be doing the study in the first place.

"Go find your sister and tell her I said you're in."

"That's it? You're not going to argue with me?"

"Why should I?" I just wanted him to leave already. "Go."

He walked away slowly. I wasn't sure what he'd expected, but I hadn't given it to him and it looked like it left him perplexed. That's when I decided it might be fun to play with his mind. I picked up the phone and called Chase. "Petey's decided that we can't do the study without him. Why don't you use it as an excuse to torture him?" I expected that Chase of all people would love the chance.

"How do you mean?"

"I told him that we wouldn't have to do any more tests, but why don't you come up with a few that you've suddenly decided are absolutely necessary. Tests I know nothing about."

"I'd be delighted," Chase said and I could hear the grin in his voice.

Just as I expected. What I didn't expect was Jess' reaction. Twenty minutes later, she came storming into my office. I wondered at first if her belligerence was part of the plan to throw everyone off track. "What kind of game are you playing, House?" she demanded.

Since I was in the middle of several, I wasn't sure which she was referring to, so I took a stab. "Petey is a perfect candidate for the study."

"That's not what I'm talking about!"

I narrowed my eyes at her as I tried to discern what was eating her. "I offered Bonnie two fifty, just the way we planned."

"Yes, I know, and I made my counteroffer. Really, House, you're not getting it."

"Obviously not. What's this about?"

"I had everything set up for the study, spreadsheets, metrics, everything, and then you go changing the rules?"

"You've seen the results. We have to fine-tune your metrics. All statistics and data are good for is a way to twist results to support whatever conclusion you want."

"Obviously you have a rather low opinion of accounting practices. They don't lie, and you can't make them lie."

"Tell that to the banks!" I knew I had her there. She couldn't be so naïve as to think that everyone was on the up and up the way she seemed to be. "Didn't your father ever have you fudge things on his tax returns? How many sets of books did he have you keep?"

"You're questioning my integrity?" She didn't shout, but that made the anger in her voice that much scarier.

I knew I'd gone too far when the storm in her eyes acquired lightning bolts that she was aiming my way. I had to diffuse the situation and fast, but I didn't know how. "No, I'm not questioning yours. Your father's maybe, and that of the statisticians, economists, businessmen and other accountants."

"I've heard that you've been known to twist facts to convince a patient to allow a procedure you're certain will save their lives, or at least get you your diagnosis. But I can't believe you'd falsify medical data just to prove your point!"

She was right of course, on both counts. There were times when results justified the lies used to get to them, but even I drew the line on what I'd be willing to lie about. "You're right." The words seemed strange to me. The number of times I've admitted that someone else was correct, and consequently, I was wrong, could be counted on one hand. "But that's why we need more precise data points. We need to be sure our results have value. If we can hone in on the exact correlation between the genetic markers and the disease, the study will mean so much more."

"I guess."

I needed a metaphor, one she'd appreciate. "Have you ever seen those puzzles where a photograph is zoomed out so far you don't have any idea what you're seeing? Or the ones where the picture is magnified hundreds of times and you're given just a couple of pixels? You can't tell what it is then, either. We need just the right level of magnification so that the pattern becomes clear."

She nodded in understanding. That's when I caught a glimpse of Wilson watching us from out in the hallway, and wondered how much he'd seen and how I'd be able to spin it.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53.**

Jess walked out of my office with a look of concentration on her face, as if she were rehashing our entire conversation. She didn't even notice Wilson, or hear him call after her.

He stormed into my office. "What the hell did you say to her now?"

I shrugged. "We just had a little contretemps about the data for the study."

"I'll bet you did! House, you can't treat her like that!"

"Why not? I treat everyone like that. I'm an equal opportunity curmudgeon." It was hard restraining the laughter that was threatening to explode. This was better than anything we'd planned.

He started to say something. I'm sure it would have been quite scathing if he'd been able to get it out, but all he did was wave his forefinger at me and open his mouth, then close it again.

My phone rang and I held up my own finger. "Hold the thought." Then I answered the expected call from Bonnie. How could I phrase what I had to say without Wilson finding out what we were talking about? Or would it be better if he did know? "You again," I finally said.

Bonnie informed me of the counteroffer.

"Two sixty," I told her.

"You'd better be serious about this," she said.

"Of course I am. Two sixty."

"I'll let you know what the other bidder says." She ended the call.

"Two sixty?" Wilson asked. "Oh, wait. Two hundred and sixty thousand? Was that Bonnie? Are you making an offer on one of the places she showed you?"

"I knew she told you about that."

"Well, she...I...what place are you talking about?" He stopped and stared at me. "Don't tell me you're bidding against Jess!"

"How should I know who I'm bidding against?"

"Don't you care?"

"Do you know me? And what right do you have to berate me? Remember, it was you who stole the loft right out from under Cuddy's nose." I had him there and I could see from his frown that he knew it.

"There have to be other places," he countered lamely.

"Not with a jacuzzi tub, hardwood floors, and real oak trim. You should be happy that I want to make a change, move into a place that's bigger, lighter and airier than my apartment."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times again, like a fish, and nothing came out, also like a fish. He'd been giving up too easily in our little chats lately, but I just accepted that and watched as he walked away. His annoyance with me showed that he hadn't noticed any of the body language when Jess and I had been talking earlier. I'd been afraid it had revealed our relationship.

It _was_ a little annoying that Bonnie was being so efficient in getting back to me and Jess after each of us made an offer. She seemed to be anxious to make this sale, more than I'd ever seen her in the past. I wondered how much she knew about my professional relationship with Jess. She had to know that Jess worked at PPTH, since Wilson had sent her to Bonnie. Well, I certainly wasn't going to tell her any more. She'd only go running to Wilson with whatever I said.

I wasn't alone for long. Taub entered without knocking and told me, "We've got a case." We'd all been afraid that might happen, cutting into the team's time for the study, but I knew it couldn't be helped. I reached out for one of the files he held. "I think we can continue to examine the subjects and collect data while we diagnose this one," he said, but he didn't look so certain.

"We can only do that if everyone's on board."

"House, this study has become important to all of us, but we won't neglect the patient. Should I get the others?"

"I'll page them."

Foreman was the first to show up. "This better be as important as you say. I was down in the lab, trying to speed-up the analysis of the latest samples."

"We've got a case," Taub repeated as he handed over a copy of the file.

Foreman grimaced until he took a look at the patient's symptoms. Then he began to nod, sighing deeply.

Thirteen arrived with Chase. "What's up?" she asked.

"New case," I said.

They also examined the information in the folders Taub gave them.

"What about the study?" Chase asked once he'd read it through.

"It goes on. We do both at the same time."

"It shouldn't take long to find out what's wrong with her," Thirteen guessed.

"You think?" I challenged.

They began throwing out possible diagnoses: sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, meningitis, and leukemia seemed the most likely.

"Check the spleen and biopsy the bone marrow and a sample from the salivary gland," I ordered.

"What about blood tests?" Foreman asked.

"Weren't those already done?" I examined the record again. "It looks like there's a high platelet count," I pointed to the most recent results, obtained earlier in the week.

"It can't hurt to repeat," Taub said.

"Why don't the two of you start the tests while Hadley and I finish up with the test subjects for the day?" Chase suggested, but then looked at me to gage my reaction.

"That'll work." I watched my team troop out. Less certain than Thirteen that this would be an easy solve, I went to my book shelves and found one of the texts I'd consulted often before. The patient's symptoms sure looked like amyloidosis, but that could only be confirmed if they found evidence of amyloid deposits. Of course, the disease took different forms, depending on what organs were affected.

I could speculate, but it would be a waste of time unless I knew for certain what we were dealing with. So I just sat back to wait.

I was no longer surprised when suddenly efficient Bonnie called fifteen minutes later to tell me Jess' latest offer. "You know, House, there are other places I can show you."

"Did Wilson tell you to dissuade me from bidding on the place?"

"Well, I..."

"Yeah, I thought so. Sorry. It won't work. That's the one I want."

"But the other bidder is looking for a place for herself and her boyfriend and she's not going to be able to go much higher than this." She hesitated. "She works at the hospital, too. Very nice woman."

"Don't care. Two seventy." I closed the connection. We'd gotten close to our limit much quicker than I'd expected. Now what would we do? I had to talk to Jess without arousing suspicion.

The best excuse I could think of for approaching her was to demand that she tell me what progress she was making on changing the metrics of the study. It was pretty lame, and I hoped it wouldn't lead to a discussion like our last one. I didn't know why, but that one left me feeling a little unsettled.

Luckily Jess was alone at her computer, intent on the screen in front of her. I watched her fingers fly over the keys, her mouth set in a firm line. The furrow in the bridge of her nose deepened, and she stopped typing momentarily, then resumed.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

Her entire body jerked as her eyes swiveled to me. "Not a problem, it just needs a systematic approach. What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"What is it this time?"

"We're getting too close to our maximum offer. I didn't think Bonnie would move this quickly."

"She does seem rather eager." She paused. "Do you think I can put her off by saying I've decided I need my boyfriend's opinion on the place before I go any higher?"

"That's an idea," I said.

"And, of course, it won't be easy for me to arrange for 'him' to see the place."

I nodded. "That might buy us a day or two."

"Greg, we're going to have to come clean at some point, you know. We can't play this game forever."

"But we have to pick the time, place and way that people find out."

She grinned. "I'm sure you'll think of just the right way to do it."


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54.**

It took a while for Foreman and Taub to get preliminary results on the patient, and when they did, the numbers didn't prove any of the possible causes for the high platelet count or other symptoms. That would have been too easy.

"Can we get back to the hyperacusis study and have Chase and Hadley do the next set of tests on Mrs. Allen?" Taub asked.

"You'd rather work on the study?"

"Well..."

"OK. Tell them I said it was time to play musical patients."

Taub was grinning when they left, but Foreman's face was as impassive as ever. They were barely out the door when Bonnie called. I expected it would be the last call from her for the day. Sure enough she said, "I couldn't reach the other bidder. We'll have to wait until tomorrow."

I smiled although I knew she was lying, and wondered why, but I didn't want to call her on it. "OK. But you have two days to decide who you're gonna sell this place to and if you don't, I'll find another real estate agent." I hoped that would convince her how serious I was.

"Oh, I'll have an answer for you by then."

Her behavior through all of this was unusual. It was time to see what Wilson had to say. Maybe he knew why she was so eager. The minute I finished talking to her, I headed for his office. He tried to put me off by saying he was busy, but that never stopped me before, so why would he expect it to now?

"Bonnie's given up on trying to dissuade me from bidding on the apartment, but now she's really pushing the sale. Any ideas why?"

"Believe me, House, if I understood why Bonnie ever did anything, our marriage might have turned out quite differently. So you're determined to buy it? I know for a fact that it's the same one Jess is bidding on. Are you just trying to keep her from getting it?"

"Would I do something like that?"

His glare said it all.

I shrugged. "She and her beau can find another place, maybe the first one I saw that had a really neat flight of stairs. I'm sure he's not a cripple like I am."

"What do you know that I don't?" he asked. I knew that suspicious look on his face. I might have overplayed my hand.

"About Miss Giordano? Nothing! Well, gotta go." I high-tailed it out of there before I said anything else for him to analyze.

That encounter convinced me of the fact that I had to come up with a cool way to tell people about Jess and me, and soon. I don't really mean 'tell' because I never do anything that straightforward. Certainly the more shocked everyone was, the more entertaining their reactions. I could just show up with her when she 'brings her boyfriend' to see the apartment, and let a stunned Bonnie pass the word on to Wilson, but what would be the fun of that?

We could arrange for Wilson or a member of my team to find us in a compromising position. That would be fun, the position part I mean, but the impact would only be momentary. No, it had to be more theatrical than that.

Whatever we did, it had to happen when everyone least expected it.

I had to push those thoughts to the back of my mind when Chase approached before I'd even returned to my desk. "There are no signs of amyloid proteins. It's not any form of amyloidosis."

"I knew once you and Thirteen took over the case you'd get more decisive results. One down, a gazillion to go."

"On the other hand, Mrs. Allen's developed a fever. Along with the CBC, that points towards an infection."

"Then we have to pinpoint what kind. Start her on a broad-spectrum antibiotic and check for any rashes."

Chase nodded and left again. I knew the team could diagnose her given enough time, and she was far from critical. Our patient was the least of my worries.

To prove my point, my phone rang. It was Bonnie again. Now what did she want? "I thought you weren't going to hear from the other bidder until tomorrow at the soonest."

"House, we've got a problem."

A problem to Bonnie could be anything from a hangnail to the sky falling. "Be more specific."

"You know that the condo was a multiple-listing, right?"

"Yes." I pressed my eyes shut as my mind anticipated what she was going to say.

"Someone else is bidding on it besides you and Jess." Then she caught herself. "I probably shouldn't have mentioned her name."

"That's OK. I know who the other bidder is, I mean Ms. Giordano. What's the bid from the third party?"

"Two eighty."

I thought about that a minute, wondering if there was a way to find out who the other person was. Then a notion occurred to me. Wilson. Would he make a bid on the place so that Jess could get it rather than me? It sounded like something he might do, although I wasn't sure how that would work.

Of course, if it was Wilson, and he thought he was acting for Jess, if I dropped out now, we'd get the place anyway. The problem was, what if it wasn't Wilson? And how could I find out?

"Are you going to talk to Ms. Giordano, tell her about the other offer?"

"I have to."

I wasn't supposed to know about Jess' delaying tactic, so I couldn't ask whether Bonnie would still show the place to her boyfriend. "Well, keep me posted."

I stared at the phone after I ended the call. This was becoming much more complicated than it had to be. I had to talk to Jess yet again. She might be able to approach Wilson and find out what he was up to. Last time when I went to talk to her, she was alone, but I couldn't count on that being the case again. I decided to use the fact that Bonnie and Wilson knew that I knew that Jess was bidding against me.

I returned to the room being used for the study. Sure enough, Foreman and Taub were there with Jess. I burst through the door and shouted at her, "I'm sure you can find another place to buy than the one I'm bidding on!"

To Jess' credit, she quickly realized that something had happened and that we had to talk about it in private. "You're the other bidder?"

I nodded. "And now there's still another person in the mix."

That gave her pause. "Oh!"

"You two are bidding on the same condo?" Taub asked with a grin on his face. "This should be fun!"

Jess and I turned on him and simultaneously said, "Stay out of it!"

"I think it's time to start processing the next patients," Foreman said. He motioned for Taub to follow him out.

"I thought we'd never get rid of them," I said with an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Greg, tell me it isn't true. There's someone else who wants our place?"

"Maybe. Bonnie called to tell me there'd been another offer made. She'll probably call you any minute now."

"But?" She'd obvious interpreted my skeptical expression correctly.

"I think it might be Wilson trying to pull a fast one."

"What would it accomplish if he bid on the place?"

"He could then sell it to you and cut me out of the picture."

"But he has to know I wouldn't pay what he's offering, doesn't he?"

I shrugged. "Money's not the issue here. He wants you to have the condo almost as much as he wants me to not have it."

"But he's your friend."

"There are all kinds of friendships. He's probably doing it because he wants to teach me a lesson or something."

"So what are we going to do?"

I grinned slyly. "Two, or rather three can play his game. We might have to clue someone in on our little secret to make this work, but I have an idea."


	55. Chapter 55

As if there wasn't enough going on in this story for House, this plot twist came to me and I couldn't NOT write it.

**Chapter 55.**

Neither Jess nor I was certain my idea would work. If the other bidder wasn't Wilson, all bets were off. I returned to my office and waited impatiently for Jess to do her part for step one. Soon, I saw her walk by on her way to Wilson's office.

Would he come clean when she griped to him about this third bidder who was interfering with her desire to purchase the condo, or would he at least tell her not to worry because he'd take care of it? We knew he'd never confide in me that he was behind this but he seemed to have Jess' best interests at heart.

I didn't have long to wait. Ten minutes after she entered, Jess left Wilson's office. Seeing no one else in the corridor, she looked directly at me through my glass door, and smiled with both thumbs up. Our ploy had worked!

I smiled back at her, then watched her walk away, back to the room where they were doing the study. One headache to cross off the list. Now all I had to worry about was our patient and the study. Oh, and also how Jess and I would finally drop that bomb about our relationship. But first, it was definitely time for me to make my presence felt with the study and the case, but which one should I interfere with first?

The patient was more pressing, of course. As I walked toward her room, I thought about how I wanted to play this. With amyloidosis ruled out, there were really only a few viable options.

Thirteen was taking a vial of blood when I reached the patient's room. She looked up when I entered but finished taking the sample before she shook her head and said, "The antibiotic isn't working and her fever is only slightly lower. And, our tests have all shown a low platelet count. We didn't do anything that should have reduced it so much from the levels in her file, so I'm thinking our tests are wrong."

"Or the ones done by her doctor were."

"When we can't trust the results of blood tests, how can we be sure of anything?"

I nodded. "You've taken samples from both arms?"

"You think the blood in one arm is different from the blood in the other one?" Thirteen was skeptical.

"Something changed between the previous tests and the ones we've done."

"Next you'll be telling me to get a sample from some other part of our patient's body."

She didn't seem to notice the look of horror on the patient's face.

"It couldn't hurt," I said, causing the woman to gasp.

Thirteen narrowed her eyes at me but did what I said, taking a sample from her left arm, and another from a vein in her neck. "Oxygenation of cerebral venous outflow has been used as a neuromonitor, so I guess blood from the jugular vein can be used for other studies." I wasn't sure she was telling me or the patient.

"They sample blood from there for small animals," I said to reassure the woman. It didn't seem to work.

"Well, she's not a lab rat, but who knows what we'll find. I'll take these down to the lab."

"You do that."

Once she was gone, the patient rubbed her neck and asked in a squeaky high voice, "How many more tests do you need?"

"Did that hurt?"

"Well, no."

"We'll do tests until we find out what's wrong with you." I started to walk away.

"Are you going to take some blood too?"

"You were just complaining about all the tests. Now you want more?"

Instead of answering she started to complain. "Nobody tells me what's going on. First two doctors were here and did some tests. They left and two others showed up. Are you another doctor?"

"I'm their boss."

"Then maybe you can explain what you're looking for. This wasn't what I was expecting at all."

I studied her. She was actually serious. I pulled up a chair and sat down. "Your blood tests are giving us conflicting information, you've had a fever but you're not responding to antibiotics," I began to tick off on the fingers of my right hand. "Dr. Fredericks asked us to consult on your case because he didn't have a clue about what was causing your high platelet count, our tests show a low platelet count..."

"Dr. Fredericks?" She looked puzzled. "Who's he?"

I grabbed the chart hanging on the end of her bed. "Isn't Dr. Fredericks your doctor?"

"I never heard of him."

"You're Estelle Allen?"

"I don't think so." Her eyes narrowed.

I reached for her left wrist and read the hospital bracelet on it. Natalie Kelsey. No wonder our tests didn't jibe with what was in Estelle Allen's file. What was going on? Without another word to the patient, I stormed out of there, intent on getting some answers.

My first stop was the room I'd visited a couple of times before that day. For once I was glad Jess wasn't alone. "Did either of you bozos even check the patient's identity?" I yelled at Taub and Foreman, ignoring Jess and the two people my team members were talking to.

"This is Clark Carlson," Taub said, indicating the young man sitting across from him. "Aren't you?" he asked the subject.

"Yes. I already told you that."

"Not these patients! The one we've been sticking needles into up on three."

"Estelle?" Foreman asked.

"Only her name is Natalie. I agree that sounds the same as Estelle, especially if you leave out the 'n'."

"The patient's name is Natalie?" Taub still didn't get it.

"The patient we've been testing is named Natalie. SO what's happened to Estelle?"

"What kind of hospital is this?" the woman who'd been talking to Foreman asked.

"You should be asking what kind of doctors these are," I replied.

"House!"

"Why are you blaming us?" Foreman asked. "What about Hadley and Chase?"

"Your former girlfriend probably took your word for the fact that she was the right patient. Chase too."

"What about the orderlies and nurses who brought her to us?" Taub was reaching to find someone else to blame for his mistake.

"I guess I'm not going to get any answers here," I said.

"House, instead of affixing blame, why aren't you trying to find out why Natalie was brought to your team, and what happened to Estelle," Jess suggested.

I nodded once. Jess was right. I left to find out who'd caused the switcheroo. Fredericks was a specialist in geriatrics so I went to the Gerontology department. The hospital did a big business in treating elderly patients with all of the problems that come with age. The woman my team had been treating was old enough to fit the profile, and might even have been another of their patients.

The floor nurse was someone I'd dealt with before, a middle-aged harridan with beady eyes and a head of thick steel-gray curls. Her ample figure strained the seams of her pure white uniform. "Can I help you?" She frowned as if she wanted nothing to do with me.

"I need to see Natalie Kelsey's doctor."

"Who? We don't have a patient by that name." She glared at me.

"Then I'll have to talk to Fredericks."

"DOCTOR Fredericks is with a patient."

"Well, DOCTOR Fredericks sent me a patient, Estelle Allen, but the patient who was delivered was Natalie Kelsey. Now I wonder how that could have happened."

"You think WE made a mistake? That's not likely."

"Well, someone did. Check your computer and see whether you can locate any information on the Kelsey woman."

"I hate to think about what happened to poor Mrs. Allen," she muttered to herself as she did what I asked. She looked back at me and said, "There was a Natalie Kelsey admitted for gall bladder surgery six hours ago."

I pushed a boatload of air through my mouth as I promptly turned and walked to the elevators. Next stop, the OR. Hopefully I could stop them from removing Estelle Allen's gall bladder.


	56. Chapter 56

I'm finally beginning to feel human again, but if this chapter is too crack-y, blame it on my still being sick when I wrote it.

**Chapter 56.**

"House? Where do you think you're going?" Cuddy stopped me before I could reach the operating theater.

I'd been hoping to resolve this before she even found out about it. Not that it was my fault or that of my team, but it took five hours for us, that is for ME, to realize there'd been a mistake. Maybe if I got her to focus on whoever had sent Natalie to us and Estelle to the OR, she'd ignore the team's part in it. "The idiots in Gerontology sent a patient for surgery instead of to my team. Being old and forgetful must be catching."

"What are you talking about?"

"Fredericks sent us a patient with high platelet levels, only that patient, Estelle, wound up in the OR."

"So who were you treating?"

"A woman named Natalie Kelsey, who was here for gall bladder surgery. So if you don't want Estelle to lose the gall bladder that she might still need, you'll let me go in there."

Cuddy hesitated. "Who's the surgeon? I'll call and stop the procedure." She started for the observation booth.

"How should I know who the surgeon is!" I followed Cuddy to the observation room so I was there when she pick up the intercom and ordered him to stop the operation.

"We'll bring you the correct patient in a short time." Then she turned to me. "Where is she?" Cuddy didn't look happy.

Cuddy commandeered an orderly with a gurney on the way to the room. I realized belatedly that Chase and Thirteen still didn't know they were testing the wrong patient. As unobtrusively as possible, I texted Chase. "No more tests. Wrong patient." I could only hope he got the message.

Natalie was chatting with Chase when we arrived. "We'll take you for your surgery now," I said, indicating that the orderly should transfer her to the gurney.

Chase raised an eyebrow at me, but played along. "You'll be so much better afterwards."

I let Cuddy take her away. It would be more than a half hour before anyone brought Estelle to us. Meanwhile, I told Chase about the mix-up.

"These things should never happen!"

"If Taub and Foreman had bothered to check her wristband, they would have caught the mistake earlier. But there's nothing we can do about it now, except examine Estelle when she gets here, and find out why _her_ platelet count is so _high_."

"Does Hadley know?" Chase asked.

"About the switched patients? Not yet."

"Don't tell her right away."

"What are you planning?" I asked with a smirk. Chase could be as devious as I was.

"I'm not sure yet how to play it, but the less she knows the better."

I nodded my approval.

"What about Jess?" he asked.

"Jess knows. And so do Taub and Foreman now, so you'd better swear them to secrecy before they blab to Thirteen."

The door slid open and another gurney was wheeled in. The woman on it was older than Natalie Kelsey. She was still under the influence of the anesthetic they'd fed her.

"There lies Estelle Allen, a woman mistreated. Have your way with her," I told Chase.

"It'll be my pleasure," he replied, and I left him to it. Now that we had a patient who matched up with the file we were sent, I was sure the team would find out what was wrong with her without any more help from me.

I felt that I'd accomplished a great feat and it was almost time to go home. But before I could leave, Wilson knocked at my door. "What's this I hear about a patient mix-up?"

"Do you believe everything people tell you?"

"In this case I do. I know for a fact that at least part of it is true."

"All fixed."

"But how did it happen in the first place?"

"Not my concern. And if you're going to imply it was my fault, I'll have you know that I was the one to correct the mistake."

"You?"

"Yeah. Ask Cuddy. And my reward is that I'm going home early."

"You always go home early."

"And your point is?" I started to walk past him.

"House," he called.

"What?"

"How much do you want that condo?"

"What does that have to do with anything? Are you planning to put in a good word with your ex-wife for me?"

"I might."

"Speak."

"Suppose I told you that the third bidder is a plant, a shill."

"Bonnie's resorting to tricks to jack up the price? I thought she was working for me. And Jess, too, I suppose. The only one who'd benefit from that is the seller." I thought that over. "She's in collusion with the seller?" I was not going to let him know what I really suspected,

Wilson, on the other hand, was willing to let me think whatever I wanted, whether it was true or not. "I wouldn't put it past her. She'll do anything to make a sale."

"Maybe you can find out who the owner is so I can lean on him."

Wilson shrugged. "It's probably a matter of public record."

"That's true. What did Jess want earlier?"

"Jess?"

"I saw her visit your office."

"She was just griping about the third bidder."

"Did you tell her what you suspect?"

"I told her it was a possibility. She didn't look too happy about it."

"I'm not either." His supposition was actually plausible, but I was more convinced than ever that he was behind the third bid. "I guess I can confront Bonnie once I find out who the owner is."

Wilson frowned. "Maybe I should do that for you."

"Are you afraid of what I might say to her? If what you suppose is true, she deserves whatever I dish out."

"But if you still want to have a shot at buying the condo, you might want to tread lightly with Bonnie."

"Make up your mind. I thought you wanted me to let Jess have the place."

"That's true."

"I guess I can think about it tonight and decide how to handle the situation tomorrow."

He nodded. "See you then."

I finally was able to head to my car and drive home. There was a lot for me to talk to Jess about. I wanted to hear what Wilson told her and whether she believed his suspicions about the third bidder. It might be time to end this. I wondered what would happen if I told Bonnie that I couldn't meet Jess' price or that of the other bidder.

The first thing I did when I arrived home was to run a search on the owner of record for the condo. Okay, the first thing was to get a beer, but that hardly counts. At any rate, the owner was a woman named Ethel Hardwick. What I learned about Ethel when I searched further brought a smile to my face. Now, how was Wilson going to explain this?

Jess arrived home at five thirty. If she was surprised to see me grinning, she didn't say anything.

"Wilson told you his 'suspicions' about the third bidder?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Would you believe that the owner is an eighty-five-year-old widow named Ethel Hardwick?"

"Hardly the type to be colluding with Bonnie to jack up the price."

"Exactly. So which of us should ask Wilson about that?"

"I'll be happy to," she said. She was grinning as broadly as I was. "And you'll be happy to know I've thought of a way to subtly disclose our relationship."

"Do tell!"

"Well, once I've purchased the condo, and you've convinced everyone how heartbroken you are over losing it..."

"...hardly heartbroken..."

"Anyway, I can ask them to help me move in."

"And when I show up, they'll realize something strange is going on."

"No. That's the beauty of it. You won't have to show up. I assume they've all been here at one time or another."

"Yes."

"So when the moving people begin to unload your piano, and your couch, and..."

She didn't have to finish. I was laughing at the picture I was getting of the astonishment on the faces of my team and my BFF. Leave it to Jess to come up with something almost as clever as I would.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57.**

The next day, Jess and I put our latest plan in motion. It had been her idea, so I let her do all the work, of course.

Meanwhile, I needed to find out what Chase had in store for Thirteen. I hadn't really thought about how he'd use the patient mix-up to toy with her. Besides everything else, she wasn't as gullible as some I could mention.

I found the two of them in Estelle's room. Thirteen had to have realized that the woman in the bed wasn't the one she'd been poking and prodding the day before, but for some reason she was railing on Chase about wasted time and people playing games.

The minute she saw me, she switched her focus. Her teeth locked together, and she said through them, "Yesterday was a complete waste of my time! I wonder what this hospital is coming to. Although why I'm surprised after all this time, I don't know."

"Didn't you get the memo about musical beds? Or was that musical patients?"

"House, Chase joked about the same thing, but this is serious. This woman's treatment has been delayed unnecessarily!"

"I agree. So why are you wasted more time arguing about it? Diagnose her."

She glared at me. I think Taub's the only one on the team who hasn't perfected the 'House, you're making me angry' glare, but she's even better at it than Foreman.

"Besides, I'm sure the tests you did yesterday were very helpful for Natalie's doctors," I went on.

"Who?"

"Natalie. The former occupant of this bed."

Her eyes narrowed. "Chase said she was here to see how well our testing and analysis procedures worked. And we passed because our tests disproved the symptoms we were initially told."

"And you believed Chase?"

"The alternative was unthinkable."

"Think again. But if you believed Chase, why are you so upset that you did those tests?"

"House, you're spoiling it!" Chase protested.

"So why was she really here?"

"She was in the hospital for a cholecystectomy."

"Gall bladder!" She nodded. "That would explain a lot."

"So, what's wrong with Estelle?" I asked, aiming my cane at the woman in the bed.

"Are we sure this is really Estelle?"

Rather than assume I told her, "Check her wrist band."

She didn't hesitate. "She's Estelle."

"And?"

"The platelet count is close to what was in her file. She has some sort of infection."

Chase added, "We started an antibiotic, but it hasn't been long enough to tell whether it's taking effect."

"Aren't there any other symptoms to show us where the infection is, if not what kind?"

Thirteen shook her head. "No rashes, inflammation or feverish spots, her head's not stuffed up, and she claims there aren't any new aches or pains."

"Do urine and stool cultures," I ordered. "Something's bound to turn up."

I returned to my office just in time for my office phone to ring. An entire seventeen hours had gone by without a call from Bonnie, so I suppose I was due. "How many people are bidding on the condo now?" I asked her before she could say a word.

"Uh, just you and Miss Giordano."

"What happened to the third bidder?"

"He dropped out."

"He? So it wasn't the owner after all."

"Why would the owner be bidding on the place?"

"To jack up the price."

"Oh!"

"Don't tell me that's never happened to you before? Don't answer that. So, where do we stand now? Who bid last and what's the bid?"

"Uh, I think we're at one seventy, by Miss Giordano. Are you ready to bid more?"

I sighed loudly. "I guess I'll let her have it. But if another place like it turns up, you will call me first, right?"

"Sure, House." She wasn't very convincing.

I'd done my part in getting the ball rolling on Operation: Big Reveal. The harder part would be to convince Wilson that I was despondent over the loss of the place, but even that should be child's play. I ticked off on my fingers where we stood on everything that was going on. Jess was about to buy the condo, the patient's diagnosis was finally in good hands, and we had a plan for us to come clean. That just left the hyperacusis study.

I wondered whether the latest data was being cooperative, falling neatly into the framework of what we wanted to prove. Did I dare check in on Jess without ruining anything else? But I had to know.

Jess was huddled over her computer screen with Taub looking over her shoulder when I reached the study room.

"What've you got?" I asked.

"Slicing and dicing the numbers gives us a slightly better convergence than we had before, but it still might not be enough," she said.

"Any specific problem?"

"Only about half of the subjects so far have the marker we've been assuming was connected to their hyperacusis," Taub said. "The others don't and just under ten percent of the control group have the marker."

"So, maybe our assumption is wrong."

"But here's the thing," Jess said, "I took your thought about various levels of the disease into account." She clicked on another series of graphs. "Those with the most severe symptoms are the least likely to have the marker. It's only those with a less obvious problem, like my brother, who all have it."

"So maybe it's more than one syndrome," I concluded. I'd been thinking along those lines but these results seemed to confirm. "Those patients diagnosed with hard-core hyperacusis may have a different condition entirely."

"Or at least a different genetic cause," Taub said, nodding. "This is major!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," I warned. "We'll have to see whether the remainder of the subjects bear out what we're saying."

"And we have to explain why those in the control group with the marker show no signs of the disease," Jess added.

"And, finally, we have to find out if there's a different marker for the patients with severe hyperacusis."

"Foreman is examining some of the subjects right now. I'll go tell him what we're thinking," Taub volunteered.

Once he was gone, Jess turned to me. "This is exciting!"

"I'm glad you think so."

"House, admit it. We're on the verge of a new discovery about a disease. I'd think you'd be as excited as anyone about it."

"Yeah, yeah." I wasn't going to let anyone, not even Jess realize that I was, so I changed the subject. "Bonnie tells me the third bidder dropped out, and I told her I wasn't going to try to outbid you."

"When I told Wilson that I was going to approach the condo's owner, he turned white as a sheet. He doesn't have the staying power to go up against you for long, does he?"

"Especially when it's not just me, but you too." I grinned. "So we go head with Operation Moving Day."

"Is that what we're calling it now?"

"Oh, it'll change several times before we're finished."

She chuckled. "Are you finished here? Because I have to get back to number crunching."

"Yeah. I guess I can find something else to do."

"See you later."

I left her to her data and headed back to my office, but along the way I decided there was something more I had to do. I didn't even bother to knock on Wilson's door, thinking it was a waste of time. I barged in to find he wasn't even there. Smiling to myself, I took the opportunity to peruse what was on his desk. I may have even opened a drawer or two before I heard him approaching and promptly took up residence on his couch.

"House, what are you doing here?"

"I need consoling," I pouted. "Your dream came true and Jess beat me out of the condo."

"You couldn't outbid her?"

He had to know I hadn't even if I could, but I shook my head anyway. "She's got deeper pockets than I'll ever have."

"Well, I can't say I'm disappointed."

"Some friend you are!" I added just a tad of bitterness to my voice. It wouldn't do to overplay this.

"I'm sure Bonnie will find you something else now that she knows the kind of place you want."

"But I wanted that one!" Was my whine a little too plaintive?

"House, you can't always get what you want."

"That's what Jagger said. At least you're quoting the best."

He took a deep breath and let it out. "Tell you what. I'll treat you to a steak dinner tonight. Will that help ease the pain?"

"Only if I get to have dessert too."


	58. Chapter 58

Sorry for the delay, but as many of you know I was out of town for a few days, and didn't have much time online or to write.

**Chapter 58.**

The next morning, soon after I arrived at the hospital, Thirteen came to my office. "I'll need Taub or Foreman to help me with the patient today."

"Where's Chase?"

"In case you've forgotten, Ellie's back with Christopher today for a checkup, and I don't think I'll be able to drag him away from them." There was an amused look on her face.

I hadn't forgotten about the baby's appointment. Jess hadn't let me. She'd been excitedly looking forward to seeing Ellie and Chris, and it was all she'd talk about at breakfast. Not the study, not the condo, not even our coming-out plan.

"I guess the study can get along without one of the others today," I told Thirteen. "Your pick." I knew since her break-up with Foreman, things between them had been estranged, but they'd tried to be professional about it.

Her eyes twinkled. "Foreman it is, then." I guess she was going to take perverse pleasure in rubbing his nose in the fact that he hadn't noticed they had the wrong patient. Of course, she hadn't noticed it either, but I wasn't going to point that out.

Although I knew that Chase wanted to be the one to examine Chris, I was still his doctor of record so I went looking for the room where the proceedings would take place. The room was crowded. Ellie's parents had come with them, and both Chase and Jess were there to see how the baby was doing. I was almost surprised that Petey hadn't shown up.

"OK, make way for the gimp. Time to get this show on the road!"

Christopher watched me approach with a look of curiosity, as if he was trying to remember where he'd seen me before. That was a lot better than his listlessness the first time I examined him.

"Your mother taking good care of you, kid?" I asked him as I reached for one of his chubby little hands.

He burbled something, then looked up at his mother, easily picking her out of the crowd of people clustered around him.

I glanced at Ellie myself. "You've been using the pink noise generator?"

"Yes, of course. I'll do whatever it takes to help Chris."

I shone my penlight in Christopher's eyes and he tried to cover them. "Sensitive to light, huh? I bet now that you're feeling better you're becoming a handful for your mother and grandparents."

Chris reached out a hand to try to grab the penlight from me, proving my point in his own way.

"Good grip, kid." I easily pulled it away from him and handed him a lollipop instead. I just happened to have one in my pocket. You never know when you're going to come across a toddler you need to distract. "I'd say his treatment is working," I told Ellie.

"Even I could tell that, but will we have to continue his treatment forever?" she asked.

"It's not as if he's going to grow out of it," I warned. "Honestly? I don't know how long he'll need the generator, or whether anyone will ever come up with a more permanent cure."

"Ellie, let's take this a day, a month, a year at a time," Chase told her. So, he'd already decided he was going to be part of their support system.

"Honey, we'll all be there to help you with him," Willa Cleary told her daughter.

"I'm not concerned about what I'll have to do for. I just want him to live a normal life."

"Normal's overrated," I said automatically, but I meant it.

"I bet Chris will have a better life than his father. Petey still refuses to accept his problems, and he's only half-heartedly doing something about them," Jess said.

"He did volunteer to be a subject for the study we're doing," Chase reminded her. "Although I do wonder what his motivation is."

"Doesn't matter," I said. "We need as many subjects as we can get."

"What about Christopher?" Ellie's father asked.

"He was the reason we started the study in the first place."

"What kind of study is it?" Pat asked.

As I watched and listened, Chase and Jess took turns explaining the study to Ellie's parents.

"But what happens if you prove a link between this chromosome problem and the disease?"

"They'll be famous," Jess replied with a smirk. "Of course, it's not as clear cut as we originally thought, or rather the doctors thought. I'm just the number cruncher."

"And don't you forget it," I said.

"I hope your father will be proud of the work you're doing on this study," Willa Cleary said.

Jess shrugged. "He thinks my working here is a big mistake, but that's mainly because I'm no longer in Dorsey working for him."

"I saw him the other day," Cleary said. "He looked kinda sad."

"And how does that differ from how he always looks? Since my mother died, he's gone around with that same woebegone expression. And he's been even more ornery than ever. Nothing anyone did could please him. At least here I feel like I'm somewhat appreciated for what I can do."

She hadn't said much about any of that before. I guess I hadn't realized what a good change it was for her to be working at PPTH, and I wondered what else I could do to make things even better for her. She certainly deserved it.

"We wouldn't have known how to use our data to prove our point without you," Chase told her. "I'll bet even House thinks you're doing a bang-up job." He looked at me, daring me to say something positive about Jess' work.

"At least you can add," I said, hoping she knew that the sarcasm was just for show.

She chuckled.

"And you're staying in Princeton? Even after the study is over?"

"Yes. I just purchased a condo." Jess glanced at House, who managed to frown on cue. "I'll be signing the mortgage papers in a few days and then I'll be moving in."

"With her boyfriend," Chase added.

"Jess, you have a boyfriend? Why didn't you tell me?" Ellie asked excitedly. "What's he like? What does he do?"

Jess just laughed. "He's a cool guy and very nice to me." She was able to stop herself from looking at House. "I think this place will be perfect for both of us. We're going to need some help moving in," she said, looking at Chase.

"I'm sure we can round up a few people to help."

"Don't look at me," House said with just the right amount of annoyance in his voice. "After you stole that condo out from under me, don't expect me to lift a hand for you."

"Dr. House, were you interested in the same place as Jess?" Willa asked.

"Yes. And it was even more perfect for me than for her." He sneered at Jess.

"I'm sure you'll find another," Jess replied. "At least you already have somewhere to live where you're comfortable."

Suddenly, perhaps sensing the overt hostility in the room, Christopher began to cry.

"Now see what you've done!" Jess scolded.

"Me? I didn't do a thing." I watched as she lifted Chris into her arms and cooed to him, calming him immediately. I guess she had a magic touch with all males.

But after a while, she handed him to his mother. "I have to get going. I hope I'll see you all again before you leave Princeton."

"Why don't you have lunch with us?" Willa suggested.

"Yes, Jess. Please!" Ellie said.

"OK," she agreed. "I can meet you in the hospital cafeteria around noon." She glared at me once more before she left the room.

"Dr. House, I hope you won't be too hard on Jess," Ellie said. "She's a really nice person."

"As long as she does her job, and doesn't think she knows more about medicine than she could, I can ignore our differences," I replied.

"Hah!" Chase said.

"What, you don't think I can be civil?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I think there's more to all of this than we know."


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59.**

I wondered whether Chase was on to us. If anyone could read between the lines and realize what Jess and I were up to, he'd be the one. But I decided that we shouldn't do anything about it for fear of drawing too much attention. If Chase was busy enough with the current case, the study and Ellie and her baby, perhaps he wouldn't have time to think about Jess and me.

I was curious about how Jess would handle the conversation with the Clearys at lunch. Based on her behavior that morning, I knew I could trust her to play things close to that lovely chest of hers. It would have been nice to eavesdrop.

But there was something else that had been running through the back of my mind since I'd spoken to Thirteen about the patient earlier, so I headed back to the room. I was just in time for the entertainment I was seeking.

"Why do you think it's haemolytic uraemic syndrome?" Foreman was shouting at Thirteen. "There's no evidence of kidney damage."

"You were the one who didn't even question why the test results we got were so radically different from the ones her doctor reported. If you concentrate on Estelle's test results and forget about Natalie's, it would be obvious that it's HUS."

"It could also be TTP," Foreman insisted. "The presentation is similar. Both result in low platelet counts."

I held my hands like the two sides of a scale. "HUS – TTP, HUS – TTP." I pretended to juggle the two and frown. "And did you say LOW platelet count? I thought she had a high count, so I don't see either of them as our culprit. And Foreman's right about the lack of kidney damage, but we haven't seen any other signs of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura either. Keep looking."

I left them both glowering at me. I wasn't going to take sides, especially when I disagreed with them both. Meanwhile, I didn't think Estelle was getting any worse. If she did, I might have to step in, but for the time being, I'd leave her to my team, let their hostility towards each other help the patient's diagnosis.

That left me at loose ends, so I headed back to my office for prelunch siesta, and arrived just as my phone began to ring. Surprisingly, it was Bonnie. "What now?" I growled as I picked up the phone.

"You said I should call if another property showed up that might interest you," she said defensively.

That was something I hadn't expected, at least not this quickly. "You found something?"

"Yes. In the same neighborhood as the one that Ms. Giordano is buying."

How could I refuse to see it without giving anything away? "Can I take a look at it today around noonish?"

"Could you make it a little later, say twelve-thirty?"

I didn't want to be too cooperative, but I grudgingly agreed. "Give me the address." I jotted it down as she read it off. It was on the same street as the one Jess and I would be buying, maybe a block away. I expected it would be similar to that one. How was I going to turn it down? I'd just have to think of something. Why did there always have to be unexpected complications just when I thought my plans were going perfectly?

I wouldn't be able to eavesdrop on Jess' conversation at lunch after all, but I knew I'd hear all about it later. I smiled, thinking about how good she was at evading questions and prevaricating. She'd do just fine.

I stretched out in my Eames chair and closed my eyes, my thoughts going to the evening before. Sex with Jess was better than any fantasy I'd ever had. Being able to stroke her soft and silky skin, run my fingers through her dark hair, and kiss those sweet, full lips, just thinking about her was getting me hard. I suppose you'd call what we'd done lovemaking, but the mixture of both physical and emotional stimulation was unique in my experience. Why did I find the sparkle in her eyes so erotic? How could touching her most sensitive spots warm my heart as well as other parts of my anatomy? And added to all that, she was just such damn fun to be with, to talk to, to scheme with.

If Wilson knew how I felt, he'd tell me she was perfect for me, just what I needed, someone to finally make me happy, or at least less miserable. Well, Wilson didn't know, and wouldn't for a while if we could help it. I could just imagine the look on his face when realization finally hit. It'll be sweet, but not as sweet as the details he'll never know.

I was suddenly jolted out of my most pleasurable thoughts by a loud knock at my door. "House, we've been paging you. Come quick. Estelle's going into cardiac arrest."

As I followed Thirteen back to the room, I said, "At least we have another symptom."

They were already using the defibrillator on the patient. My brain tried to make sense of this turn of events. There'd been no sign that this was imminent in all the time we'd been treating her. Why now? She'd been stable not that long ago. What would cause her heart to suddenly fail that we hadn't already ruled out? We'd been so sure her problem was some kind of infection. Infection, especially bacterial, has been known to cause fever and increased activity in the body, which could have a harmful effect on heart muscle function, but she didn't have a high enough fever, just a high platelet count. The most common infection in people with heart failure occurs in the lungs but she didn't have pneumonia or even shortness of breath. Sure, heart failure can also be caused by viruses that attack the heart muscle. Could that be the case here?

There had been no swelling of Estelle's feet or ankles to indicate pericarditis. Inflammation of the pericardial sac surrounding the heart_has been known to result from echovirus or coxsackie virus, and less frequently, it's caused by influenza or HIV infection, but without symptoms, none of that seemed likely._

_I didn't have to tell Thirteen or Foreman any of this. They were both well-aware of the possibilities. At least they were no longer arguing over the diagnosis. Pity in a way. It had been entertaining._

_"We'll do an EKG, see what that shows," Foreman said._

_"After the fact, you know what it'll show," I reasoned. "But do it anyway. Who knows what else you'll find."_

_"We'll need to monitor her more closely," Thirteen added. "Can't let this happen again."_

_The patient seemed to be resting comfortably now. Her vitals were returning to normal. There was something nagging at the back of my brain from her history, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Where's her file?" I asked._

_Foreman handed it to me, but going over it twice, I didn't see what might have been bothering me. Of course, a high platelet count by itself could trigger a heart attack, but somehow that didn't seem likely here. What were we missing? As I thought about it, I suddenly saw the wall clock. If I didn't move soon, I'd be late meeting Bonnie. I considered calling her, using the patient as an excuse to delay seeing the condo, but decided it would be better to get it over with._

_"I'll be back," I said and left before either of them could ask where I was going._

_It was easy to find the row of townhouses and one-story condos where I was meeting Bonnie. She stood outside a unit that looked superficially similar to the one Jess and I were buying. "I'm sure you'll like this one," she said, opening the lockbox, taking out the key and unlocking the door._

_The layout was similar to the other one, too, everything on one floor, living room, dining room, kitchen with a couple of bedrooms and baths. It even had a jacuzzi tub, although not as nice a one as at the other place._

_I tried to look noncommittal. "How much do they want for it?"_

_"One eighty, but I think you can get them down to one sixty. There are a few minor problems."_

_"Like what?" I'd have to have some kind of reason to turn this place down._

_"The hot water heater is fifteen years old and should be replaced, and the backyard is all weeds."_

_Neither of those items was really major, but I had a feeling there was something about this place that Bonnie wasn't telling me. "What else?"_

_She sighed and bit her lip. "The reason they moved out was that there was a murder committed here about two months ago. The killer hasn't been caught."_


	60. Chapter 60

_**Chapter 60.**_

_So Bonnie was trying to sell me a house where a murder had been committed. She had to know that no one would want to buy a place like that, but then she might also know that the idea would intrigue me. If she didn't know, perhaps Wilson told her. Was she in cahoots with him? I'd seen his hand prints all over all of my dealings with her recently, so why shouldn't I be surprised? He'd bought the antagonism between me and Jess, but he wasn't finished playing with my head._

_"Do they know who the killer is?" I asked to buy time while I decided how to play this. I couldn't pretend that my natural curiosity wasn't aroused, but I could use the facts to refuse to consider the condo._

_Bonnie shrugged, a furrow appearing between her eyes. "I'm not in the confidence of the police."_

_"Of course not. Who was killed?" I wasn't going to let her get out of telling me all she knew._

_"I understand it was the older son of the couple who owned the place, a teenage boy."_

_I wondered if there was more information about the case online. I'd have to look when I got back to my office. Not that it would change my mind. "It does put a new perspective on whether I should buy the place. The owner's names?"_

_"Wh...why are you so interested in the details? You can use the circumstances to get a really good deal on the place. That should be all that counts, right? I mean, lightning's not going to strike twice in the same place."_

_"Depending on what beef the murderer had with the victim, who knows whether he'll come back. Do you really think I should take that chance? No matter how much money it would save me?"_

_"Well, no." It appeared that she hadn't even thought of that. How dumb was she?_

_"Bonnie, thanks for trying to find me a place, but I don't think this is the one for me."_

_"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll keep looking."_

_"You do that."_

_I walked toward the door, but she called me back._

_"House, what if they find the killer and put him behind bars? Would that change your mind?"_

_"I thought you didn't know where the cops were on this. What makes you think they'll be able to catch the culprit so soon?"_

_"Well, nothing, but what if?"_

_"Then call me." I walked through the front door, not looking back because I thought I knew what I'd see, Bonnie on the phone to my sometime BFF._

_On my way back to PPTH, I went over all that she'd told me. Just because I had no intention of considering the condo as a place to live didn't mean I couldn't satisfy my curiosity about its history. After all, what difference would it make, other than to give me another mystery to solve._

_Not that I lacked those at the moment._

_Truth was, Bonnie, probably with Wilson's instigation or at least encouragement, had given me something to fill my spare moments. I was just getting into the research about the crime when Foreman came to my door. "Estelle's EKG showed an inflammation in her heart that wasn't there before."_

_"The heart attack didn't suddenly cause that," I said._

_"Maybe not."_

_"What else?" I knew there had to be more._

_"Her low-grade fever is back."_

_"So you're still thinking infection."_

_"It fits."_

_"But what kind?" I demanded. "She didn't respond to antibiotics."_

_"Viral, then."_

_"What virus would cause a heart attack and pericarditis, increase her platelet count, and cause a low fever?"_

_I knew he hated to admit it. "I don't know."_

_"Well, then find out!" Shouting at him wouldn't help, but it felt good. I wondered if there were suddenly too many things going on in my mind, and that they were all preventing me from figuring this one out. I shook my head to clear it. "We're definitely missing something."_

_"That's what you always say."_

_"Because it's true. When you say a low-grade fever, do you mean ninety-nine or a hundred?" I wasn't ready to let it go._

_"Why?"_

_"Because it makes a difference. Did we establish a normal temp for her?"_

_"Ninety-eight point two. And she's currently at ninety-nine point six," he reported. _

_I nodded, although I wasn't sure where I was going with this, at least not yet. Probably just thinking out loud. "Does she have any chest pain?"_

_He hesitated. "You're thinking Dressler's syndrome?"_

_"The heart attack could have been severe enough to set that off."_

_"But it wouldn't show up so fast. It usually takes two to three weeks, sometimes longer."_

_"It would account for the pericarditis and the low-grade fever."_

_Foreman was nodding his head as it began to make sense to him. "Without any infection. OK, so what do we do to prove it?"_

_"We don't have to. The first thing we do is give her two aspirin. If that doesn't help, she may need corticosteroids."_

_"I'll take care of that now." He walked off with a smile on his face._

_If this diagnosis was right, then there was one less thing for me to think about, but I wasn't quite ready to check it off the list in my head. _

_I went back to finding all I could about the murder at 345 Prospect Street. Unfortunately, there wasn't much. It hadn't been big news. In fact, for some reason the press hadn't paid much attention to it. White middle-class teen, murdered at home sometime during the night. No obvious clues, no suspects. Jared Philips had been an average student at McKinley High. From the tiny picture, he was your typical pimply pubescent kid, going through the physical and emotional changes that plagued teenagers everywhere._

_The parents probably both worked, and there was one younger brother._

_I went to the source of all good information about a person, his Facebook page. I wasn't at all surprised with what I found there. He had 425 'friends', most of whom he'd probably never met and now never would. In fact, I'd bet most didn't even know he was dead._

_There were a few pictures of Jared with his real world friends, the boys looking so much alike in their T-shirts and jeans, the girls all perky and smiling for the camera. Based on the chatter, like Jared, most of his friends worked on the school newspaper. There was already a memorial post, started by two of the girls, Missy and Callie, and hundreds of comments to the post. But none of it pointed to why he was killed, and who dunnit._

_I was so immersed in this evidence of teenage life today that I didn't hear or see Jess come to my doorway. "Got a minute?" she asked, finally breaking through._

_I looked up over my reading glasses, then checked to see whether there was anyone watching us. "For you, anytime," I said when I was sure we were unobserved._

_"I just wanted to tell you what happened at lunch with Ellie and her parents."_

_I nodded. "And then I can tell you about the place Bonnie found for me."_

_"She didn't! So soon?"_

_"And I've already seen it. And there's a story behind it."_

_"Do tell!"_

_"You first."_

_"Well, of course after this morning, they tried to get me to tell them something about my 'boyfriend'. I'd thought about what I could and shouldn't tell them, and for the most part was able to fend off their questions, but then Ellie said something strange."_

_"OK. C'mon. Don't leave me in suspense."_

_Jess laughed. "She said, 'he sounds like Dr. House'."_


	61. Chapter 61

_Sorry it took longer than I thought to finish this chapter, but here it is._

_Chapter 61._

_I frowned at Jess' words. "Ellie really thinks your description of your boyfriend sounds like me?"_

_"Well, even though I was circumspect, I was also pretty accurate. Don't worry, though," she hastened to add. "I warded her off by taking that as an insult to my 'boyfriend'. I told her, 'thank God he's nothing like that irritating man!'."_

_"And she bought it?"_

_"For now."_

_"Chase wasn't there, was he? Because he has his own suspicions, and if the two of them compare notes..." I left it to Jess' imagination. _

_"I know, but that can't be helped. Of course they'll talk. We just have to hope that they'll be so caught up in their feelings for each other to bring either of us up." She glanced behind her, but there still weren't any prying eyes to see us. "So, what's the story on the condo Bonnie found for you?"_

_I told her all about the place, and the murder. "The death in the house is a good excuse to turn the place down, but it's also intriguing."_

_"Leave it to you to find another distraction in the midst of everything else that's going on," she said with a grin. _

_I shrugged. "There was already one fewer, since we may have diagnosed our patient."_

_Jess laughed. "It's the juggling you really enjoy, isn't it? Having several puzzles to solve at once isn't even enough, it's the fact that your mind can work on them all at the same time that gives you pleasure, especially since most people wouldn't be able to do that."_

_"What can I tell you? I'm that good." I had to smile._

_"Well, I'd better go. See you later." She flashed her own smile at me, then left to go back to her work._

_I was glad she'd been able to fend off Ellie's train of thought, but I wasn't sure how much longer we'd be able to keep up our charade. Move-in day, AKA 'the unveiling', wouldn't be for a week or more. Meanwhile, we might have to step up our game. It was just a matter of how. What else would convince everyone that we didn't care for each other? The thought of fighting with Jess, even if it was just a ruse, disturbed me somehow. It was becoming more and more difficult to level my snark her way, to imagine that I disliked her or even act as if I didn't._

_Why was I so pleased that she found it admirable that I could handle so many different things at once? I knew it wasn't as easy as it once was. Just as gratifying, though, especially when I was successful at all of them. That was the key, wasn't it? Getting the answers, the right answers to each and every puzzle._

_"Dr. House." _

_I looked up to see Ellie in the doorway, carrying Christopher. They were alone, no parents, no Chase. _

_"What can I do for you?" I asked her._

_"I wanted to thank you again for all you've done for Chris. If it wasn't for you, if you hadn't hunted me down and convinced me to get treatment for him, he wouldn't be as well as he is now." She looked at her little boy and smiled as he reached for her nose._

_Chris' case was the kind of success I was thinking about, not so much that the kid was doing better, but that I was able to solve the puzzle of his ailment._

_"Jess says the study is going pretty well, so maybe, in the future, kids like Chris can get treatment sooner, or maybe even never have the problems he did." She took his small fingers in her own and brought them to her lips._

_"Is that what you think the study's about?" I'd certainly never thought about it that way. For me, the interesting thing was the genetics involved. There was so much we didn't know about the relation between a person's genetic code and how it manifests._

_"Why, yes. What else?"_

_I shrugged. "Fame as the team that figured this out. Knowledge that no one had before. There are all kinds of reasons to do it, not all of them altruistic."_

_"Well, whatever the reason, I think you should continue to use Christopher as a test subject." She smiled at her son, and he smiled back. The baby was gurgling as if he was trying to join the conversation._

_I stared at Ellie, thinking about what she'd said. We'd already used the kid's test data, his genetic analysis, even his initial response to the treatment. What more could we get out of him? Then it dawned on me. Ellie wanted an excuse to stay in Princeton a little longer to further her relationship with Chase. "You know that, even if you go home with your parents, Chase will visit you."_

_"It's not that. I mean I wouldn't mind sticking around and seeing more of him." She blushed a little, but it was clear that there was something else keeping her in town._

_I cringed inwardly when I finally realized her motivation. She wanted Jess to introduce her to the secret (or rather nonexistent) boyfriend. But I wasn't supposed to know about Ellie's curiosity about him. And I certainly didn't want Ellie prying. "I'm not sure that you want to subject your kid to any more poking and prodding, especially now that he's doing so well. But if there's any way he can help, we'll let you know." It was a dismissal, but she didn't leave. "What now?" I asked as sternly as I could muster._

_"Dr. House, what happened between you and Jess? I mean, you seemed to like each other, and now you act as if you can't stand to be in the same room."_

_I noticed that she didn't say we couldn't, just that we acted that way. "I find her irritating."_

_"How so?"_

_She wouldn't let it go. I felt myself squirm as I tried to think of a reply. "She's...she always wants things to be straight-forward. Things aren't always that clear cut."_

_Ellie shook her head slightly and her brow furrowed, then cleared. "You're jealous?"_

_"What?" How did she get from finding Jess irritating to my being jealous? "Why should I be?"_

_"She has a boyfriend. Someone she likes better than you." Ellie giggled. "And you can't stand that because you like her."_

_"Do not! She's...she's boring!" My highest insult._

_Ellie shook her head and finally walked toward the elevator, but she was still giggling, and so was the baby. Bad enough that Ellie thought Jess' 'boyfriend' sounded like me, now she was convinced that I was pining for her._

_"Why would I care if she has a boyfriend?" I shouted after her._

_At that moment, Foreman arrived from the opposite direction. "Who has a boyfriend?"_

_I couldn't tell him why I was protesting what Ellie said without telling him what she said, so I deflected. "Ellie's sister."_

_"Is she back in town?"_

_"Not that I know of. Ellie has some strange ideas sometimes. So what did you find?"_

_"All the tests indicate we were right. Estelle's responding well to the treatment. I guess we can all get back to the study."_

_"Good," I said. "Ellie wanted us to consider including Christopher as a test subject."_

_"But in a way we already have."_

_"That's what I told her, but I wonder if there are any changes that his treatment have produced besides the obvious."_

_"House, you and I both know that his genetics haven't changed."_

_"No. But what else has?"_

_He stared at me, not in a challenging way, and then began to smile and nod._


	62. Chapter 62

_Chapter 62._

_I wondered if there was a way for me to meet Jared's parents or brother. I didn't even know where they were living. Bonnie certainly hadn't said. All I had were the parents' names, Dan and Lynn Philips. I went back to Jared's Facebook page and found his brother was named Zach, and had his own page. But he was savvy enough to avoid putting any personal data on it._

_Then I remembered the memorial that Jared's friends put up for him. I left a message for the two girls, and asked them if they knew where I could send a sympathy card to Jared's family, then sat back, smiled, and waited. It wasn't long before one of them, Missy, posted a reply._

_The Philips family hadn't moved far, but I knew just a few streets made a difference between the cookie-cutter condo they'd been living in and the one-of-a-kind mini-mansions like their new home. So they hadn't just moved to get away from the place where tragedy struck. They were moving up in the food chain._

_Next I needed a way to drop in on them. But before I did, a connection to them fell into my lap. I don't believe in coincidences, or omens, but what else could this be? That afternoon, Chase had Jess send me a preliminary report on the study statistics, it listed the patients and the control group, and even the group who were due to be examined that afternoon. Among them was the name Lynn Philips. It was a common enough name, I supposed, but I was betting it was the same one._

_Now all I needed was a reason to talk to the test subjects. I knew it wouldn't be in character to offer to do any of the interviews. I could picture the red flags it would set off. _

_Then, what Ellie said earlier gave me an opening. I could ask what any of them thought would be the outcome of the study. Maybe that wasn't something I'd ordinarily do either, but it would be very characteristic for me to challenge the motivation of those who'd volunteered. That might work._

_I printed out the list, grabbed my cane and made my way to the interview room where I found that each of the four members of my team were busy talking to someone. The middle-aged Hispanic man that Thirteen was working with couldn't be Lynn, and neither could the teenage boy, frowning as Taub explained what he'd be doing. That left two women._

_I approached Chase and the prettier of the two, a blonde who looked to be about the right age to be the mother of the murdered teen. "Did Dr. Chase tell you we'll need to take a ton of samples from you?" I began._

_She smiled at me and replied, "I'm well-aware of what this will be like."_

_"Mrs. Adler volunteers for a lot of the drug trials at the hospital," Chase told me. "She says this is the first time she's been involved in something like this, though."_

_So she wasn't Lynn Philips, but I had to play out my ruse. "A professional test subject, huh?"_

_She laughed. "It beats playing boring card games with the other women in my building. When you have a husband like mine, who insists I don't have to work, you need something to occupy your time and make you feel like your doing something useful."_

_I found myself liking her, but she wasn't why I was there, so I moved on with my questioning to the woman that Foreman was interviewing, changing my approach slightly. "How can you put yourself through all of this testing when you don't have the disease we're studying?"_

_"I don't mind." The woman was slim with dark hair and eyes that accentuated her pale skin. There was a sadness in her eyes that I'd almost expected. You don't lose a child without feeling pain, I've been told._

_"But what will you, personally, get out of this?" I went on. _

_"The more we learn about diseases and what causes them, the better we'll be at fighting them in the future."_

_"Very altruistic," I sneered._

_"You don't agree?"_

_"Dr. House doesn't care about preventing disease, or even curing patients, just finding out what's wrong with them," Foreman answered for me._

_Her eyebrows went up as she said, "That's a strange attitude for a doctor."_

_"Do you know anyone with hyperacusis?" I asked her. If someone in her family had the syndrome, I could understand her volunteering._

_"Actually, I never heard of it until recently. I was here to see Dr. Daily and his nurse mentioned the study, so I signed up."_

_"What do you need a rheumatologist for? Dr. Foreman, did you know she was seeing one?" It was definitely the kind of factor that might affect her usefulness for the study, depending on what her problem was. It could be as simple as arthritis, or it could be more serious, like vasculitis. That could skew our stats._

_"Oh, I'm not sick," she said. "He's my son's doctor. Was. I just wanted to thank him for his help in the past."_

_Was she saying Jared had an autoimmune disease that required the care of a rheumatologist? "You said was."_

_"My son...died recently."_

_"From whatever Daily was treating him for?" I asked._

_"No, Doctor. If you must know, he was murdered." Her voice shook again. She swallowed, then stared at me as if she dared me to say something about that. I stared right back but didn't say a word._

_"Oh, Mrs. Philips, that must be hard to accept," Foreman said._

_"Yes, well, we're taking things one day at a time." She looked down at her clasped hands._

_"By volunteering for a study you know nothing about?" I sneered._

_"House, I think you've bothered Mrs. Philips enough."_

_But I wasn't through with her yet. She'd given me an opening and I had to take it. "Have they found the person who did it?"_

_"House!" Foreman warned._

_"It's alright, Dr. Foreman," the woman said. "I'm getting used to everyone's curiosity. No, Dr. House, they haven't. In fact, they still don't know why anyone would kill him, or even how they got into our house."_

_"He was killed? At home?" Foreman blurted._

_"Now look at who's being insensitive." I wagged a finger at him, then turned to Mrs. Philips and repeated, "I just wonder, with all of that happening, how you can volunteer this study."_

_"If you must know, I need a diversion, something to take my mind off of what's happened, since there's really nothing I can do about it. It's in the hands of the police right now."_

_"How can you live in the same place where your child died?" Foreman had been admonishing me, but he didn't know when to shut up either._

_"We don't. We moved to a house, close enough so that our other son can continue at the same school. Sometimes I wonder if it was the right thing to do, but the police have allowed us to put the place up for sale."_

_Of course, none of that was news to me, but I had to pretend it was, and also that I was curious about the other subjects the team was examining. Without saying anything else, I went on to the man. Thirteen was starting to draw his blood. I went through the motions of asking him the same questions I'd asked the two women, and listened intently to his answers as if I was really interested. Then I did the same with the boy talking to Taub._

_"Carry on," I finally said as I left. I'd achieved some of what I wanted to, met Lynn Philips. Now I had to look for opportunities to talk to her again._


	63. Chapter 63

__We'll be leaving Friday for a trip with out travel trailer to Texas and I'm not sure when I'll have access to post the next chapter, so enjoy this one. And I thrive on reviews!__

_Chapter 63._

_I went looking for Jess, ostensibly to thank her for sending the information that Chase told her to pass on to me, but actually to report on my progress on the murder mystery front, and my strange conversation with Ellie. I knew Jess would be alone because I'd left my Fellows occupied with test subjects. But when he reached the room, she wasn't alone. Ellie was there with the baby, and the two women were playing with him._

_"I don't pay you to flirt with infants!" I said as I barged in._

_"Sorry, House." Jess smirked at me and went right on tickling the laughing ten-month-old. "What did you want?"_

_"Do I have to want anything to stop by here?"_

_She harrumphed._

_"I wanted to let you know that I got the list of test subjects."_

_"You came all the over here for that? You could have called or e-mailed me."_

_We were both aware that Ellie was listening intently to our conversation. That's probably what made it even funnier. "I was passing by, on my way back from the interview room. Did you know that one of today's control group is the mother of a teenager who was murdered recently?" I was sure Jess would get the message. It was like we were talking in code. As insightful as Ellie seemed to be, never in a million years would she know what we were talking about._

_"How awful for her!" Ellie said. I should have realized that, as a new mother, she'd be particularly horrified. _

_"She must be devastated," Jess agreed._

_"Yeah, well, not so much that she didn't decide that the best she could do would be to volunteer for our study."_

_"You can't know how she feels. To lose your child! The poor woman." Ellie held Christopher closer to her. "We think we can protect our children from everything, and then we hear about something like this. Do they even know who did it?"_

_"I don't think so. She said the cops are still investigating."_

_"You asked her?" Ellie shook her head. "I know now what you mean about him," she told Jess._

_"What did you tell her?" I asked._

_"That you're a heartless, misanthropic jerk." Jess shrugged. "I thought everyone knew that."_

_This was working out better than I thought, so why did hearing Jess say that hurt? "Bet your boyfriend is much more sensitive."_

_"It wouldn't be hard." She glared at me. "Is that all you wanted?"_

_I nodded. "I'll leave you ladies to whatever you were doing, but Jess, may I remind you, you ___are___ on the clock."_

_"Don't worry. I'll do my job, probably better than you do yours."_

_"Now, now, you two. Stop bickering!" Ellie said. "You sound like an old married couple."_

_"Not a chance!" Jess said before I could._

_"Well, I've heard enough from both of you. We don't want to hear it, do we Chris?" In response, the baby reached for her nose, making Ellie laugh. "Guess he doesn't care one way or the other."_

_I'd reached the door when Chase arrived. "Finished with the interviews?" I asked him._

_"I'm taking a break."_

_I could hear Christopher gurgling in the background, but I wasn't sure whether it was because of something his mother or Jess were doing, or the sight of Chase. The blond Aussie walked past me with a grin on his face. "I'm glad to see you, too, Buster."_

_"Buster?" I turned. "That's what you're calling him now?"_

_"It's better than 'hey, you'."_

_"He's got a perfectly good name."_

_Chase chuckled, but Ellie looked bewildered. "El, he's just being House. Ignore him," Chase advised._

_"He and Jess got into it just before you arrived. She didn't ignore him."_

_Chase looked from me to Jess and back again, then shrugged. "You learn to either dismiss the things he says or come up with good counter-arguments. Either way, doesn't matter."_

_"You've argued with him? He's your boss. And he knows so much!"_

_"I know a lot too. You learn to pick your fights with him. It doesn't pay to waste your energy when you know up front that you'll lose. Unfortunately he's usually right."_

_"Proving how much the Aussie knows."_

_"I learned from the best. Weren't you leaving, House?"_

_"Yeah, not that this wasn't fascinating," I said as facetiously as I could. I slid the door open and walked __out. Only when I'd reached my office did I allow myself to smile. That went well, I thought. Both Chase and Ellie were now convinced of the animosity between Jess and me. I was sure that news of our argument would spread through PPTH like wildfire, buying us time until move-in day._

_The rest of the afternoon passed quickly as I continued to research the Philips family. The husband headed a company that constructed strip malls, the kind that lined every major road in Jersey. I knew that the construction industry had a lot of mob connections. Was Jared killed because of something his father did or didn't do? Was the teenager even the intended victim? It seemed more likely that it was his father. But he'd been killed in his own bedroom, which supported the fact that the killer got the person they wanted._

_So, instead of quenching my curiosity, the more I learned the more intrigued I was with the entire case. If this were a TV show or movie, the culprit would be the little old lady neighbor who killed the kid because she was afraid he'd grow into a callous man like her husband had been before she killed him. But this was real life. It would be messier and more complicated than any story. I wished, not for the first time, that I had an ear listening in at police headquarters. The press coverage of the murder was sparse, and had already been relegated to a paragraph every few days buried deep in the local newspaper._

_The reporter who'd been the most persistent, who couldn't seem to let go of the story, was a woman named Angela Rogers. Could I get her to talk to me, to let me know whatever details she had that she hadn't included in her articles?_

_I called her paper. "Hello, this is Dr. Dailey from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital," I told the person who answered. "I'd like to talk to Angela Rogers." The caller ID would confirm that I was calling from the hospital. _

_"Angela's not here," I bored voice said. _

_I needed a way to have return my call that wouldn't give anything away. "Please have her phone me." I gave her the hospital number. "She can ask to speak to my associate, Dr. House." I added my extension. "I'd like to talk to her about a former patient, Jared Philips." That should pique her interest. I ended the call and sat back with a smile. I put aside my research for a while, knowing I could resume it after I spoke with Angela, and maybe something she could tell me would give me another approach to take._

_I closed my eyes to think about what I'd learned already. The next thing I knew, my phone was ringing. I sat up straighter and picked it up. "Dr. House."_

_"This is Angela Rogers. I had a message from a Dr. Daily. Do you know what he wanted to ask or tell me? He mentioned Jared Philips."_

_"Ah, yes. Jared was a patient of Dr. Daily's until his untimely death."_

_"And?"_

_"We noticed that you're obsessed with the case."_

_"Certainly not obsessed." She hesitated before going on. "I reported on a similar case in Scranton before I came to Princeton so I guess I've been more interested than some."_

_"What happened in Scranton?"_

_"They never found out who the murderer was. I just hope in this case that they will. Jared's parents and brother deserve to know why he was taken from them."_

_"Have you looked into the father's business connections?" I knew it wasn't the kind of question a doctor would ask, but she had to have information sources that I didn't, and I might as well find out what she knew._

_"You think it was mob related?"_

_Angela was quick. She'd go far in the news field. "Or anyone else who was corrupt."_

_"Why do you and Dr. Daily want to know?"_

_"Jared seemed to be a good kid. He handled his health problems well." I was guessing but she didn't have to know that. "I...we're as curious as you are."_

_"What was wrong with him?" she asked, her reporter's curiosity showing._

_That was something I hadn't been able to determine, but I could make an educated guess. "He had an autoimmune disease. He may be dead, but HIPAA prevents me from revealing any details."_

_"Can I quote you on that?" _

_"I'd rather you didn't. Again, HIPAA."_

_She chuckled. "I guess that's the doctor's version of taking the fifth."_

_"Not exactly. Well, thank you for talking to me." Before I closed the connection, I decided to add, "I'll let Dr. Daily know what you said."_

_"You do that. And, Dr. House, I'll give you a call again with any updates."_


	64. Chapter 64

__I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I didn't have much time for writing while we were away, and Internet access was limited. But I'm home now, so here you go:  
><em>_

_Chapter 64._

_I felt great that evening to go home and find Jess already there. She was busy in the kitchen, preparing meatloaf. _

_"Dinner should be ready in an hour," she said, sliding the pan into the oven, along with some potatoes. She wiped her hands against each other. "Did you want anything while you wait?"_

_"You?" I wiggled my brows at her._

_She laughed. "I think that can be arranged." But then she was serious again. "You didn't really mean the things you said about me this afternoon, did you?"_

_It suddenly struck me that she'd been affected the same way I had by our faux bickering. "No more than you meant the things you said."_

_"Maybe I did," she said with a smirk. But when she saw my eyes cloud over and my lips turn down, she sighed. "Of course I didn't mean it. Everything we said was all part of our grand plan to throw people off."_

_I nodded, but it still rankled. "Same here."_

_"I knew that..."_

_"But?"_

_"But no one likes to be belittled, especially not in front of people they like."_

_"You like Ellie and Chase?" I made it sound as if it was a stupid thing to do._

_"Yes." Her voice was teasing. "And you do, too. As you said, my boyfriend is sensitive, even if he doesn't show it." She put her arms around my waist and smiled up at me._

_It was only natural to reciprocate. We stood there, arms around each other, eyes locked, for a few moments, the hurt I'd felt earlier slowly subsiding. But I had to look away and change the subject. "I didn't tell you, but I talked to Angela Rogers this afternoon."_

_"Who?"_

_"The reporter who's still pursuing Jared's case even though the others have moved on to other stories."_

_Now I had her interest. "What did she say?"_

_I told her the little I'd learned from Angela. "She says she'll keep in touch."_

_"What I don't understand was why she was so willing to talk to you."_

_"You don't think I can be persuasive?"_

_"Sometimes your methods are, shall we say, unorthodox."_

_"I just stretched the truth, telling her that I worked with Jared's doctor."_

_"Jared's doctor?" When she said it I realized I hadn't told her that part either._

_"His mother said he was seeing Dr. Daily at PPTH. Daily's a rheumatologist, the kind of doctor who specializes in certain diseases, primarily autoimmune ones."_

_"And I'm sure what she told you only whetted your appetite to play detective."_

_"Isn't that what I always do? Instead of searching for a human culprit, I try to uncover a medical one." I shrugged. "I guess it's the one thing I'm good at, solving puzzles."_

_She slipped her arms around my neck and purred, "You're good at a few other things, too."_

_She said it with such sincerity that I had to smile and ask, "Would you like a little demonstration of that?"_

_"It'll have to wait for later or the meatloaf will burn."_

_"Let it." I pulled her closer and we headed for the bedroom and some first-class hanky-panky._

_Our dinner was only slightly burned when we returned to the kitchen forty-five minutes later, but it was worth it. And once all of my appetites were sated, we settled down on the couch together. All in all my kind of evening, the kind I hoped I'd have a lot more of._

_–_

_Before I arrived at the office late the next morning, Jess texted me that she'd be able to close on the condo in five days. That brought up a few questions. Would the Philips family be there? Should I attend, since Jess had applied for the mortgage in her own name? Would Bonnie be at the closing? Despite all of the unknowns, I was excited that we'd be moving so soon. Yes, me, Gregory House, excited about something other than a puzzle._

_But speaking of puzzles, my phone rang soon after I arrived. It was Angela with news._

_"You may have been right about a mob connection. The cops found that Sal Manucci has a beef with our Mr. Dan Philips."_

_"Let me guess. They each have construction companies and are bidding on the same job."_

_"Right again." She laughed. "And this one is a biggie, the new city office complex."_

_"But with his connections, Manucci should be able to undercut Daniel Philips."_

_"Guess not. The lieutenant in charge of the case seems to think Manucci put out a hit on the kid to scare Philips off. He's done worse in the past."_

_"What's worse than killing an innocent kid?" But somehow this mob connection didn't ring true in this case. "I'm sure they can't prove anything. And now that they have a theory, I bet they're dropping any other leads."_

_"Yeah. They've stopped questioning Jared's friends, never did talk to the brother."_

_"Do you really think Zach had something to do with his brother's death?" Stranger things have happened but I didn't think so in this case._

_"I think he knows something he hasn't told anyone. Same goes for Jared's friends. He was a teenager. They lead complicated and often secretive lives."_

_"And yet they reveal all in the social media." I was getting an idea of what I could do next. "Angela, why are you being so cooperative?" I knew the reason I'd given Jess wasn't enough. "I could be anyone, just pumping you for information."_

_She laughed. "You forget. I'm a reporter, Doctor. I've done my research. For the record, I know you don't work with Dr. Daily, but you are head of a department at PPTH. I think I can trust you."_

_It was my turn to laugh. I liked this frank young woman. Or was she so young? I'd have to check on that. She'd done her homework on me, it was time I did some on her._

_"We should get a drink sometime," she suggested._

_"I'd like that."_

_"I should warn you, though, I'm a happily married woman."_

_"That's OK. I've got someone, too."_

_Once the call ended with us both agreeing to share anything more we learned, I went back to Jared's Facebook page. There had to be some more clues there. There was nothing obvious, but I sensed an undertone of...something. I'd have to think about it. I also checked his friends' pages, and Zach's. All of the older kids were careful about what they disclosed, but Jared's brother didn't have their savvy. Still, all I learned was that he had a secret crush on Jared's friend Misty. He said she was 'hot', and a smile from her made him expand on that as only a prepubescent boy could._

_There was one other thing on Zach's page that struck me. He was into all of the same things as Jared. Jared played chess, so Zach joined his junior high chess team, although there was no indication about how well he did. I'd already established that Jared had worked on the high school newspaper, so I wasn't surprised that Zach listed his school paper as one of his activities. _

_The only difference between the two brothers, in fact, was that Zach was a gamer. I hadn't found any indication that Jared played more than an occasional round of online scrabble with his friend Jon. The younger Philips boy must have loved video games to play them when his brother didn't._


	65. Chapter 65

_Chapter 65._

_I sent Jess a message that I might be late getting home that evening. The video game store that Zach frequented was calling to me. Leaving the hospital early wasn't a problem. Everyone was so busy they hardly noticed._

_In my jeans and T-shirt, I fit right in with the crowd in the shop. I spotted Zach the moment I entered, since he looked just like the picture he posted on his site. I had to play it cool, though. I walked over to the rack displaying the Grand Theft Auto games and pretended to study them, although I already had all that the store did – and an illegal copy of Five that hadn't been released yet. But it allowed me to stand not far from Zach._

_"Is this one any good? Because the last one sucked big time." I held up GTA IV to show him what I was talking about._

_"I haven't played that one yet," he said, eying me with a bit of distrust. If someone had offed your brother in your own home not too long ago, I suppose you'd be wary, too. "But I agree with you about III."_

_"Anything you can recommend?" He'd been raving about Mass Effect III, so I wasn't surprised when he pointed me toward the popular game. Of course, I already owned that one, too. "Cool!" I said, glancing at the description on the box._

_"It's one of the best I've ever played!" They should hire him to do their advertising._

_"I bet you've played a lot."_

_"Well, yeah."_

_"I used to play chess but video games are so much better!" I forced as much enthusiasm into my voice as I could. It helped that I actually liked to play._

_"I'll say! Chess is boring compared to these awesome games. Ever play any of the Final Fantasy series?"_

_"Who hasn't? Way cool!"_

_"I wish I could play all day!"_

_It sounded like this kid was dying for someone to talk to about his passion. I could relate. "Guess you can't because you have to go to school." _

_"Oh, school's OK, except that everyone expects me to be as good at everything as Jared was."_

_"Jared?" Now we were getting somewhere._

_"Yeah, my brother. He's dead." There was sadness in his voice, but also something else, something I couldn't put my fingers on._

_"I'm sorry."_

_"That's what everyone says. But they don't know how it feels now that he's not around anymore. I mean, I could never live up to his reputation or anything but he was a good guy, and he was always nice to me, ya know? It's like there's an empty space where he should be."_

_"You miss him?"_

_"Do I ever! And now my parents expect me to do everything he did and be as smart as him and everything. It's lame!"_

_"How long has it been?" _

_"Just a few weeks. He was shot. In his bedroom. I mean, who shoots a kid in his bedroom and why?"_

_"Don't the cops know who did it?"_

_"Them? Nah. They're so lame. They never even asked me what I know."_

_"Do you know something?"_

_I might have overplayed my hand, because that shut him up. _

_"So what if I do. What's it to you?" he dared._

_Time to back off. I shrugged. "I guess you got me interested, but it's OK. You don't have to tell me. You probably shouldn't tell me what you know." I could almost hear the gears going in his head as he processed my words._

_"I don't know."_

_"Instead of telling me, though, maybe you should tell the cops. Even if they're lame, how can they solve the case if they don't know what you do?"_

_"Do you think so?" But he shook his head. "They won't listen to me. I'm just a kid."_

_"Don't you want them to find the person who killed your brother?" I pretended to try to remember the name he'd said. "Jared?"_

_"Well, yeah. Of course."_

_"Maybe if you tell your parents, they'll pass the information on to the police."_

_He shook his head. "They won't listen to me, either." He seemed hesitant to go on. "There's a newspaper lady who's been writing about it. Maybe I should tell her."_

_I suppressed a smile. Even better than Zach telling me, if he told Angela we'd have more of a legitimate reason to follow up. "Maybe you should tell her. Well, thanks for the advice on the games." I started to walk away._

_"Mister, aren't you going to buy any of them?"_

_What could I do? I grabbed the last one he recommended, paid for it, and left the store. Once I was back in my car, I called Angela._

_"You should be getting a call from Zach Philips," I said when she answered._

_"Dr. House? What are you talking about?"_

_"Zach knows something and he told me he's ready to contact you about it?"_

_"You talked to him? How'd you manage that? And why would he tell me?"_

_"He knows you've been following the case. He trusts you, certainly more than me and, oddly enough, more than his parents."_

_"Uh, that's good," she said thoughtfully. "I'll let you know what he said." There was a hint of wonderment in her voice._

_"Your welcome," I said._

_She laughed, a deeper laugh than I expected since her voice was rather high-pitched. "Thank you. However you got him talking, I hope this will help."_

_"It can't hurt. Call me after you talk to him." I ended the call and started the engine, then drove back to the hospital, my work on Jared's case done for the moment._

_Thirteen was lying in wait just outside my office. "It's beginning to look more and more like there are two different forms of hyperacusis, each linked to a different genetic aberration." She handed me the latest printout of our results. It was still in raw data form._

_"So we weren't far off track." The stats indicated that those with a milder form of the syndrome, like Chris and his father, had a mutated gene on a different chromosome from those with a more severe form. The team had now examined twenty hyperacusis patients and twenty in the control group, and the trend was running true._

_"We should be able to publish our preliminary results in the next few weeks." Thirteen was grinning._

_"Well, don't let the promise of fame and fortune go to your head. There's still a lot of work to do to complete the study."_

_"Still, it's exciting to see our hypothesis proven, even if we had to modify it a bit."_

_I couldn't let on that I was impressed that things were working out so well. "Tell Jess I want a complete summary of the results so far on my desk by tomorrow morning."_

_"You know she's going to want to take a few days off later this week to move, don't you?"_

_"And I suppose the rest of you suckers will want time off to help her."_

_"Sure. She's become a good friend."_

_"Why can't the elusive boyfriend help?"_

_"She said we'll probably meet him finally on moving-in day."_

_"And I can just imagine what he's like. OK, since you've all been good boys and girls, I suppose you can have some time off to help her. But you'll be on call. Just our luck we'll get a new patient and I'll be the only one here to treat him."_


	66. Chapter 66

_Chapter 65._

_That evening Jess and I sat together on the couch, our arms around each other, speculating about the looks on everyone's face when they finally realized that I was Jess' boyfriend._

_"Foreman will roll his eyes, of course," Jess said, and I nodded. "And Remy's eyes will narrow as she tries to remember whether there'd been any clues they missed."_

_"Taub will pretend to be annoyed that we tried to pull something over on them. Actually, I guess we didn't just try. And Chase will tell everyone who'll listen that he thought so all along."_

_Jess laughed. "You do this kind of thing all the time with them, don't you?"_

_"I love to play with their heads. And they never learn." I laughed, too, and then the phone rang. The caller's number looked familiar, but it wasn't until I reluctantly answered that I knew why._

_"Dr. House? It's Angela. You were right."_

_"I usually am. So, Zach called you?"_

_"Yes. I'm not sure how helpful his information will be, though."_

_"Get to the point."_

_"He said his brother had mentioned a few times that there were some older or at least bigger boys at the high school who'd been giving him a hard time."_

_"Bullying?"_

_"That's what it sounded like."_

_"When did this happen?"_

_"The first Zach heard about it was two weeks before Jared was killed."_

_"But why would bullies kill him?" I wondered aloud._

_"Jared said he offered them money."_

_"All the more reason that they wouldn't hurt him. If they could continue to milk the fatted calf, they would."_

_"And yet, I think there's some kind of connection," Angela insisted. "I don't know. Call it reporter's instinct."_

_"You may be right. Thanks for telling me what he said."_

_"Not at all. We agreed to share intel and you set him up to call me, so I owed you. I still don't know __how, but I guess that doesn't matter."_

_I smiled slightly and looked at Jess who was hanging on my every word. "We still have to get that drink some time."_

_"I'm looking forward to it. I'll let you know if I learn anything else."_

_"And I'll do the same." I closed the connection and looked at Jess. She was frowning and at first I wasn't sure why._

_"Was that the reporter?" she asked._

_"Yes." I related what Angela told me._

_"And you're planning on having a drink with her."_

_I smiled as the light dawned. So that's what was bothering her. "Jess, it's just two people, interested in the same thing." That didn't seem to placate her. "Are you jealous?" My eyes widened at the guilty look on her face. "Unlax. She's married. Probably has a boatload of kids."_

_"So you don't find her attractive?"_

_"I've never seen her, so I wouldn't know. She's probably a bleached blond or short and fat. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those things, of course. I just like them dark-haired and curvy. Like you." I slid my arms around her and pulled her close._

_"Of course." She rested her head against my chest._

_"You can join us for that drink," I suggested._

_"Or maybe we can double-date with her and her husband," she teased._

_I snorted. "I don't do double dates."_

_"I didn't really think so." _

_We were silent for a while and I couldn't tell what she was thinking so it surprised me when she asked, "Were you ever bullied as a kid?"_

_"Only once," I said. "Never stayed long enough in one place for anyone to even notice me. I was also always tall for my age. Skinny, but tall. Guess no one wanted to mess with me."_

_"But Jared wasn't very tall, was he?"_

_"I don't think so. He was a quiet kid, interested in chess, the school paper, that sort of thing."_

_"I wonder if that's why the reporter is so interested in the case. She probably worked on her school paper when she was younger."_

_"You may be right. I hadn't thought of that."_

_"While you're too focused on whodunit."_

_"That I am."_

_"So what interests you about Jared?"_

_"You mean my motivation?" I shrugged. "I guess I needed a distraction until we move."_

_"You're anxious about that, aren't you? You're not so good with change."_

_She was right. I'd tried not to think about what it would mean to live somewhere else. I'd been in this apartment for a long time. Oh, I'd spent a few weeks living with Wilson in his loft, but I'd never really moved in with Cuddy. A good thing, too. I was comfortable here, even though I was now sharing the place with Jess. It would take a while for me to find that same sense in the new place._

_"Greg? Where'd you go?" Jess stroked my cheek to get my attention._

_"I was just thinking I could use a peanut butter sandwich."_

_"We just had dinner an hour ago."_

_"That was an hour ago." I moved away from her and limped toward the kitchen._

_"You can make me one, too," she called._

_But once I opened the refrigerator to take out the jar, my mind went back to all that would change with our move to the condo. My hand shook as I took out a knife to spread the peanut butter on the bread. I tried to focus on the reaction of my team on moving day, but it didn't make me laugh as it had earlier. How could I make this change in my life less threatening? _

_I was standing there, knife in one hand, slice of bread in the other, when I felt two arms encircle my waist, and a head come to rest on my back. I felt my body relax. Gregory House, the person who avoided human physical contact as much as possible, was responding positively to the touch of Jess' hands. Right then I knew, with this woman at my, side I could survive any disruption to my life._

_"Almost done," I told her, getting back to making our sandwiches._

_"Yum!"_

_I turned and grinned at her. "Do you how hard it was to find a girl who shared my passion for peanut butter sandwiches?"_

_Jess laughed. "I don't think you looked very hard, but I'm glad you waited until I showed up." She took the knife from my hand and placed it on the counter. "I love kissing you even more, though." The kiss was deep and full of love. _

_Once the lip lock broke, I suggested, "How 'bout we combine the two?" I handed her half a sandwich __and took the other half. We each took a big bite, chewed and swallowed, then kissed again._

_"A lot can be said for peanut butter-flavored kisses."_

_"But we don't want to give our secret away," I cautioned._

_"Heaven forfend!" _

_We took our sandwiches back to the couch and munched in a companionable silence. I flicked on the TV and leaned back, pressing my side into Jess'. I made short work of my food, washing it down with a gulp of beer. "Guess we should start packing."_

_Jess swallowed and nodded. "I've already started, but then I didn't have that much here. We could have the movers do some of the packing."_

_"Except for the items I want to pack myself." I was resigning myself that this was happening, no more than resigning myself, I was beginning to get buzzed by the prospect. "So we've got the team helping with the move in. Who else did you enlist?"_

_"Would you believe that Petey offered to help me?"_

_"Your brother?"_

_"The only Petey I know."_

_"There's hope for him yet. Or maybe not."_

_"And your pal Wilson said he might come by, if only to supervise."_

_"I think he's more interested in meeting the mysterious boyfriend."_

_"You may be right."_

_"All we have to do now is order the food."_

_She grinned. "I knew we'd get to that before long. Tell you what, I'll leave that task up to you."_

_"It'll be my pleasure."_


	67. Chapter 67

__Although our visitors are still here, we're back from our trip to the Grand Canyon. I didn't have much time to write, but here's a short chapter for my patient readers.__

_Chapter 67._

_The big day was finally here. I looked around at all of the boxes on the living room floor, waiting for the movers to load them on their truck for the five mile drive to the condo. Jess handed me the last beer in the refrigerator, even though it was only ten on a Saturday morning._

_"I'll follow the moving van," she said. Her eyes were sparkling with excited anticipation, while I was clinging to the image of the shock on everyone's faces when I showed up an hour later._

_I stood to the side, watching as three burly men lifted box after box and took it out, then moved on to the furniture. At least they were wearing furniture lifting belts to protect themselves, a sign of professional movers. I didn't want to have to treat one of these guys if he developed a hernia or worse._

_The piano would be taken separately by a company that specialized. I sat down on the bench to play some appropriate music, beginning with Billy Joel's 'Moving Out'._

_Finally, the men, the boxes and the furniture were gone. Jess came over and kissed my cheek. "See you in an hour or so," she said, and then she, too, left. While I waited for the piano people, I wandered through the empty apartment. So much history, so many memories, both good and bad. I felt my heart begin to race, but the anxiety attack was short-lived as the doorbell rang._

_A tall, slim man stood in the doorway. "You wanted a piano moved?"_

_"Yes. It's over here." Of course, it was the only thing left in the apartment, besides me, so I guess I was stating the obvious._

_He nodded once, then left, but returned moments later with another guy and some dollies, pads to wrap around the piano, and straps to tie them on. They took their time preparing my baby for transport, and I was glad I'd picked this particular company. One possible problem avoided._

_When they were gone and my living room was completely empty, I knew I couldn't dawdle any longer. I took one more look around the place, opening every closet and kitchen cupboard to ensure we hadn't left anything behind. For the last time, I walked out and locked the door behind me, saying a silent good-bye to one part of my life as I set off to begin another._

_–_

_I had a problem finding a parking space near the condo. Between the moving truck, the piano transport van, and everyone who'd come to help Jess move in, every possible spot was taken along the curb. I ended up parking two blocks down and walking. That gave me time to rethink how I should announce my presence._

_Jess had suggested that, when I walked in, she'd say something like, "Here he is now!" and come over for a hug and a very public kiss. Much as I knew that would work, I wasn't sure I was as comfortable with it as she was._

_No, it had to be something even more dramatic. Unfortunately, when I arrived in front of the building, Wilson arrived from the other direction and I didn't have a chance to plan anything else._

_"Guess you decided to join the party," he said. "Or were you as curious about Jess' boyfriend as the rest of us?"_

_As we walked side by side to the front door, I didn't answer him. Instead, I turned the knob and walked into chaos, calling out in my loudest voice, "Honey, I'm home!"_

_Jess came over immediately from the room where the movers were uncrating the piano. She grinned at me, and delivered the line she'd rehearsed with even more enthusiasm than I expected, adding, "Welcome to Grand Central Station!"_

_"I should have waited until everyone left," I said, sliding my arms around her._

_"You can't get out of helping that easily." That's when she kissed me. I was so caught up in the kiss that I never saw the expressions on those who were there to witness it. _

_"We're going to have to do that again, so I can watch how everyone reacts."_

_"I wouldn't mind that." She kissed me again, an even deeper one, but I was able to look out of one eye and see the gaping mouths and wide eyes we'd hoped to achieve. And then the comments started._

_Foreman rolled his eyes as expected, but he also told Jess, "I hope you know what you're getting into."_

_It was Thirteen who said, "I knew it all along!", rather than Chase. "I saw the spark between the two of you right off the bat."_

_"But...but...you were always arguing." Wilson's eyes narrowed. "House, you said some pretty harsh things about Jess."_

_"And she wasn't your biggest fan, either," Chase said with a grin. "Well done!"_

_I smiled at him. At least some people approved._

_"So, House is the mysterious boyfriend?" Taub smirked. "I guess we should have all seen this coming."_

_Petey appeared in the doorway from the kitchen. "Whatever happened to everyone? I don't know where you want anything to go, Jess. Oh, hi Dr. House. Here to help?"_

_"I'm mostly here to supervise," I told him, following him back to the kitchen, and leaving the others to discuss what they'd just learned._

_"I'll come with you," Jess said, taking my left hand, much to her brother's puzzlement._

_There were boxes all over the floor and counters, each with Jess' neat handwritten note: Kitchen. We had to open them, though, to see what was in each. I quickly found the coffeemaker and a few other essential items, and put them out on the counter. The rest of the unpacking would have to wait. Time to check on the bedroom furniture._

_Wilson was already in the master bedroom, instructing the movers where to place the bed. It was a good thing I showed up when I did. "No, we want the headboard against that wall, so we're facing the windows, not the door."_

_They looked at Wilson for confirmation. He shrugged and told them., "It's his place, whatever he wants." He turned to me. "You never wanted your bed to face windows."_

_"So? I can change. I'm moving here, aren't I, with Jess."_

_He grudgingly admitted I had a point. "Frankly, I never thought I'd live to see this."_

_"There you are!" Jess said, entering the room. "I wondered where you'd gone off to." Her arm linked with mine. She was grinning, having the time of her life. "The caterer's here. Where should I have them set up lunch?"_

_"They can put it out on the counters and the butcher block in the kitchen, and everyone can help themselves."_

_I'd decided on something simple, just some deli meats and bread with all the fixings. Seeing that the movers were making progress in the bedroom, I followed Jess and Wilson back to the kitchen. Moving was hungry work._

_But before we could reach the food, Taub stopped us to ask, "Where do you want the book boxes?" There were built-in shelves in the living room so I told him that's where they should go. I'd probably move some of them to other parts of the condo, but we could start there. Then Chase showed up with a wooden box, but before he could ask about it, I told him, "Hall closet." No need for him to know what was in it, or why I had it._

_I finally reached my goal. Jess was already making a roast beef sandwich for me. I figured everyone would find the food when they realized there was some, but she insisted on making the rounds and letting them all know. Munching on my lunch, I followed. For once I was glad Jess had befriended my entire team. If they ever gave up medicine, they could take a job in furniture arrangement._


	68. Chapter 68

__I'm not certain when I'll be able to post the next chapter, or even write it, since I'll be spending most of the next week in Vegas with a bunch of other House fanfic writers. Hopefully I'll have something ready by the end of the week.__

_Chapter 68._

_By three thirty, all of the food and beer were gone and so were the moving people. Most of the furniture was in place. We all stood around the living room._

_"I guess all that's left is unpacking the boxes," Jess said._

_"I'm sure ___your ___team will help with that," I said, moving one so I could sit down on the couch to watch._

_"Despite the fact that they were here at my request, they're still your team. And Wilson and Petey," she added._

_The helpers were still casting odd glances at the two of us, especially Foreman and Wilson. I think by then Chase and Thirteen had adjusted to the news. Taub was keeping a straight face, while Petey seemed oblivious to everything going on around him._

_"Is there anything else we can do before we leave?" Thirteen offered. "You really can't want us to put your things away for you, can you House?"_

_Chase nodded. "Yes, I think it's time we leave these lovebirds alone." But he hadn't reckoned on Ellie and Christopher showing up at that moment._

_"Oh, this place is nice!" she exclaimed, walking through the door, the baby in her arms looking around at the place and all of the people. "Jess, I bet you'll be very happy here."_

_"With House? I'll take that bet," Foreman told her._

_"Huh?" Puzzlement clouded Ellie's pretty face._

_"Your faith in our undying love is underwhelming," I told Foreman._

_"You could accept the bet for Ellie," Jess teased._

_I may have been the only one who noticed how Petey was staring at his son, frowning as he watched the little boy reaching out for Chase. I guess Jess' brother was more aware of what was happening between Ellie and Chase than between Jess and me._

_Turning back to Foreman I said, "I'll take that bet."_

_"I'll give it six months," Foreman said. "Three hundred bucks that she's left you by then."_

_I nodded my agreement and then looked at everyone else. "Any other bets?"_

_"Actually, I think I'd like a side bet against Foreman," Thirteen said with a smirk. "Say another hundred?"_

_"I honestly don't care." Taub shrugged._

_"Who cares whether you do or not?"_

_I could see Wilson considering his options. Would betting against my relationship with Jess encourage or discourage me? Did he even care whether I was happy?_

_Jess was just standing there, her arms crossed, an odd smile on her face. "I can't believe some of you. Don't you want us to succeed?"_

_"It isn't a matter of what we want," Wilson finally said. "House doesn't have a great track record. He always finds a way to mess up anything good in his life. We don't want you to get hurt."_

_"At least he's saying that you're good for me," I told Jess out of the corner of my mouth with a roll of my eyes._

_Chase and Thirteen cracked up, but the others groaned. Wilson studied Jess. Did he see something in her eyes? His eyes narrowed and he finally said, "I'm still not convinced, but maybe it can work."_

_"At least we know where everyone stands," Jess said. "I know we can make it, and it won't be to prove anyone else either right or wrong. Maybe we fooled you too much with our little game, but House and I do have something going here." She smiled a knowing smile._

_"Wait a minute, the two of you are together?" It finally clicked for Petey._

_"Well, I for one am thrilled for the two of you!" Ellie said. She hugged Jess and grinned at me._

_"C'mon, Ellie," Chase said, handing Christopher back to her. "I've spent enough time here today, and I'm sure House and Jess can't wait for everyone to leave."_

_"You got that right!"_

_Slowly but surely, Jess' helpers departed. Once the last of them were gone, she and I stared each other in the silence that followed. _

_"So, where do we start?" she asked, moving closer to stand in front of me where I still sat on the couch. Her hands rested lightly on my shoulders as I looked up into her dark eyes and saw the passion growing in them._

_"I suppose it's appropriate to start in the bedroom. We have months, no years, to christen the rest of the house."_

_"Fine by me." She took my right hand in her left and tugged, but I didn't really need her help to stand and walk with her to our new bedroom. There were still boxes strewn about the room, but the bed was clear except for some minimum bedding. Jess walked straight to it and pushed the blanket to one side, then patted the mattress before sitting on it. "Come join me."_

_I gladly accepted her invitation, sitting beside her and slipping an arm around her shoulders, then __pulling her backward onto the sheet. We shifted so that we could swing our feet up, belatedly kicking off our shoes. But our shoes weren't the only things that came off. We helped each other out of our tops and I took the time to caress the upper curve of her breasts before removing the bra._

_Those breasts were lovely. Maybe her shape wasn't perfect, but I was beginning to change my view on what constituted female perfection. And Jess fit it to a T. She was totally comfortable with her body, and with mine. It was becoming so natural for us to be together. I wondered how long it would take before I couldn't remember what it was like without her lying next to me on this bed. I wasn't sure I'd had that kind of relationship with anyone in the past. There'd always been some tension, something not quite right._

_That's not to say I didn't find her exciting. Maybe it was the way her hands and mouth explored my body, taking the time to savor every touch with just the right amount of urgency. It was what lovemaking could be between the right two people. The naysayers like Foreman hadn't a clue about what we'd developed in just a short time._

_"Ohhh!" she suddenly sighed as my hand caressed one of her more sensitive spots. "Do that again!"_

_Laughter welled up inside me. Pleasing her like this was as much of a turn on as having her please me. "What, you mean this?" My fingers stroked her gently, then a little faster._

_"Yesssss!"_

_"And what do I get in return?" I asked._

_She showed me until it was my turn to exclaim, "Yes, I think you're on the right track."_

_"The train hasn't even left the station yet."_

_"We have all the time in the world." But before long, our heartbeats quickened and our breathing became shallower. My urge for more grew. A bit more fondling, a kiss or two, and we were ready to join, to continue our climb together. Sensation replaced reason as touch replaced thought. The feel of her body locked with mine overwhelmed me as we writhed together for release, and when it came, almost simultaneously for both of us, it brought a sense of well-being I never knew I needed._

_So this was what happiness was! Much more than I'd ever imagined, and something I was so sure I'd never achieve. But with Jess I was beginning to think all things were possible._

_I looked into her face, the satisfied smile on her lips, the tinge of pink still on her cheeks, and the blaze in her eyes. "Guess you liked that," I said, well aware of the roughness in my voice._

_"Guess you did too." She kissed me. "And to think this is just the beginning."_


	69. Chapter 69

__I've been back for a couple of days, but had very little time to write while I was away. Finally finished this chapter today.__

_Chapter 69._

_Waking up the next morning in the new place was a little disconcerting, but only a little. I was in my own bed, and the body wrapped in the comforter next to me seemed to be Jess. At least Jess' dark hair poked out of the cocoon she'd formed for herself. I nuzzled that hair, smelling the now-familiar scent of her coconut shampoo, and she purred, just like a cat, and moved a little closer._

_Some things were easier to get used to than others, it seemed, because it was now natural to me to have her beside me in the morning. I felt myself relax, savoring the moment._

_But the quiet was shattered by the tinny strains of 'She's Got It' coming from Jess' phone._

_"Ohhh!" she groaned, pulling her pillow over her face._

_"Don't answer. If it's important she'll leave a message," I told her, but I knew there was no way Jess would ignore her sister._

_She reached out a hand for her phone, and removed the pillow. "Hi, Nina."_

_I didn't have to hear Nina to know that Jess wasn't happy with what she had to say. She didn't just frown; her eyes clouded over and her nose flared. "It's my life, and I'll live it the way I want. Neither you nor Father can tell me to come back to Dorsey."_

_She didn't hang up, but she was silent for a minute or two, and then her voice rose an octave as she said, "Coming here isn't going to change my mind. So don't bother!" She banged the phone down on the night table and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. "Petey called her to tell her about this place."_

_"And about me?"_

_"Well, yeah, that too, but..." she shook her head vigorously. "...that's not the part she called about. 'Why do you need a condo in Princeton?'." Jess' imitation of Nina's voice was dead on. I'd never really thought about how sing-song it sounded, or how nasal._

_"Why would Petey call her? I thought he was on the outs with your family."_

_"He couldn't very well call our father but he knew that if he talked to Nina, she'd tell him, and maybe he could get back into Dad's good graces."_

_"Especially if he made you look bad."_

_"Yeah."_

_I reached out a hand and began to stroke her shoulder. I've never been the comforting type, but somehow with Jess it came naturally to me. She slowly regained control of her anger. "Nina has decided to come here and talk me into returning to Dorsey with her. I told her not to bother, but I know that won't stop her."_

_I didn't think it was likely, and yet there was always a chance that her sister could change Jess' mind about staying. I felt my throat constrict just contemplating it._

_Jess looked at me and said, "There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I will, you know." Now she was reassuring me._

_"I knew that." I tried to sound blasé, and she smiled. "How long is she planning on staying?" There was a time not too long ago that I would have looked forward to seeing Jess' sister. Now, I was more intent on preventing her from interfering with us._

_"She didn't say. One thing's certain, though. I'm not inviting her to stay with us."_

_I smiled my approval, but my mind was already devising ways to send Nina on her way as soon as possible. _

_"I guess we'll have to have dinner with her or something." Jess must have also been planning a strategy._

_"If we have to."_

_"You know, I thought you liked my sister at first. More than you liked me. Most men do."_

_"She's pretty, at least on the outside."_

_"You're saying she's superficial."_

_"I guess I am."_

_"She does come across that way, but there's really more to her. I don't think she realizes people might like her better if she let them see the real Nina." Jess' eyes narrowed. "Maybe we can divert her attention somehow." _

_"Uh, oh. Should I be worried about what you have in mind?"_

_"We can introduce her to the team, and to Wilson, and see what happens." A twinkle lit her eyes, one that hadn't been there a minute before._

_"I like the way your mind works."_

_"Oh, I'm sure you were thinking along the same lines."_

_"It was one of the options."_

_We both laughed._

_"I can imagine what the others were. I guess she'll be here later today," Jess said. "If she calls when she arrives, we should suggest we meet her for dinner, and when we see her, ask her to drop by the hospital tomorrow."_

_"Ensuring that she meets everyone there."_

_"Exactly."_

_I kissed her forehead. The brain behind it could be just as devious as mine. I'd hate to have Jess as an enemy._

_"But what should we do until then?"_

_"I can think of a few things." I pulled her close and ran my fingers down her side, giving her an idea of what I had in mind. _

_She smiled and began her own fondling. "So, which room should we christen next?"_

_We picked the living room. There were five rooms plus the kitchen and two bathrooms in the condo but we had all the time in the world to make love in each one._

_–_

_At four that afternoon we were sitting on the couch, fully dressed, when Jess' phone played it's tune again. She looked at me, then answered. "Hi Nina. Are you in town?"_

_The answer brought a frown to her face. "I guess Petey gave you the address." She put her hand over the phone and mouthed to me, "She's coming here."_

_I rolled my eyes but I wasn't that surprised._

_"We'll see you then." She closed the connection and put the phone down. "She didn't say where she's staying, but we can make it clear that she can't stay here."_

_"We could suggest the motel where Petey's staying."_

_Jess nodded. "Good idea. If she's suddenly chummy with him, it would serve her right."_

_It wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Jess went to answer it, but I stayed put._

_"Well, I can see why you like this place," Nina was saying when Jess led her into the living room._

_"It's perfect for us." Jess emphasized the word 'us'._

_"Dr. House, how nice to see you again."_

_"I'm going to give my sister a tour of the place." Jess led Nina away before I could reply, probably a good thing. I wasn't annoyed to see her, but I wasn't going to feign delight or anything._

_"I told Nina we wanted to take her to dinner," Jess said when they returned fifteen minutes later. _

_"Where are you staying?" I asked._

_"Well, you do have a lovely guest room," Nina said._

_Jess and I exchanged frowns. "But there's no bed in it yet," Jess pointed out. "I think you'd be much more comfortable at a hotel or motel. The place Petey's staying is nice."_

_"Well, if you're going to be like that..."_

_"Nina, we just moved in and we'd like a little privacy for a while. Is that too much to ask?"_

_"Jess, you've changed since you came here, and I'm not sure I like it much." Nina glared at her sister._

_"You mean she's no longer jumping when Daddy says jump?" I butted in. "I got news for you, Nina. Jess is finally letting herself do what she wants to do." _

_Her glare had shifted to me, but then she looked back at Jess. "This man is why you've changed. He's not a good influence on you."_

_"I'll have to disagree." Jess folded her arms in front of her and stuck out her chin. "Greg's right. I finally feel like I'm in control of my own life. Maybe you should take a lesson from me, break away from Daddy's clutches."_

_The two women glared at each other for a few minutes until I said, "So, who's ready for dinner? I'm getting a little rumbly in the tummy." I patted my stomach for effect, making Jess laugh._

_Nina seemed to be struggling with her thoughts but finally said, "I am hungry."_

_"There's a great Greek place not far from here," Jess told her before turning to me. "Nina loves Greek food."_

_"Greek it is then. Ladies?" I held out my elbows for each of them to grab and we headed out the door._


	70. Chapter 70

__A short chapter but an important one. As usual, I'd love to see your comments.__

_**Chapter 70.**_

_Jess and I hoped that the Greek food would soften Nina up a bit. She looked around the restaurant when we were seated and said, "It's kind of small, isn't it?"_

_Jess grinned at her sister. "But the food is great! Wait until you taste the spanakopita!" _

_I threw in my own two cents worth. "I don't remember a Greek restaurant in Dorsey." _

_"Well, no, there isn't one, but I would have expected something a bit fancier here." Nina frowned._

_I rolled my eyes. "Jess is right. What the place lacks in décor it makes up for in flavor."_

_"We'll see." _

_Niko, the owner's son, came over to take our orders and leave a bowl of olives, some pita bread, and glasses of ice water. He grinned at Jess. "It's good to see you again. And who is this lovely lady with you?" Suave didn't begin to describe him. He could have made it in the movies with his wavy black hair and blazing dark eyes in a tanned face. Almost as tall as I was, he wore his shirt with the top two buttons open to reveal his bronze chest. I smiled seeing that Nina couldn't take her eyes off him. The fact that he was gay and in a relationship didn't have to come up._

_"Niko, bring us some hummus and spanakopita to start, and a bottle of your best retsina."_

_"Very good, Doctor." The young man flashed his very white teeth when he smiled at the choices._

_Once the handsome young man was out of sight, Nina examined the menu. "Oh, look, Jess. They have veal soffrito! I haven't had that since we went to Corfu!"_

_I wondered when that was, since Jess never told me her family went to Greece. She must have noticed my puzzled look because she said, "When our father took us to Italy to meet his aunt and cousins six years ago, we took a side trip to Greece for a few days."_

_"That was after the accident?"_

_The two sisters exchanged a sad frown. "Yes. I think it was an attempt to give us a sense of family," Jess said._

_"The fact that he and his aunt argued the entire time we were there defeated the purpose of the trip, but it was an eye-opener in many ways," Nina added._

_"Did Petey go, too?"_

_Jess nodded. "Kicking and screaming. Now I wonder if that had anything to do with his hyperacusis, his sensitivity to noises."_

_Niko returned with our starters and poured the thick Greek wine. Jess promptly held up her glass and __said, "Here's hoping you'll enjoy your visit to Princeton, Nina. I'd love to show you what we're doing at the hospital, the results we're getting in this hyperacusis study."_

_"I'm not sure it's kosher for Nina to see the results," I warned. "The subjects do have to stay anonymous."_

_Jess smiled at me. She had to know that I was only bringing that up so Nina would think I was opposed to the idea. "There aren't any names in the statistics I'm putting together. I can show her how well the data are proving the link between genetics and the syndrome without giving away any personal information."_

_"This is the thing that Petey has?" Nina asked._

_Jess nodded. "And his son, Christopher."_

_Nina still didn't seem interested in the baby, but she hadn't spent any real time with him. He was a cute kid, very appealing for someone who didn't speak much or do much. _

_"Dr. House, I'm interested in seeing what my sister is doing here. I hope you'll allow me to visit her at the hospital."_

_I scowled at her and said, "I guess it'll be alright. But I don't want you interfering with the work my team is doing. It's very important and sensitive."_

_"Yes, of course. I'll make sure I don't bother them."_

_Niko returned and took our orders. He grinned at Nina when she ordered the soffrito. He loved to grin. Both Jess and I had kabobs, knowing that Niko's parents used the most authentic seasonings in their marinade and cooked the meat and vegetables perfectly. While we waited, we finished off the hummus, pita and spanakopita, as well as more than half of the bottle of retsina. That alone seemed to be making Nina more mellow._

_"I never imagined the two of you together." Nina looked from Jess to me and then back again with a puzzled look in her eyes. _

_"Frankly, neither did we. But I think Greg and I fill a need in each other."_

_"And then there's the sex."_

_Jess smirked at me but didn't complain about my comment. "Nina, whatever Petey told you, I'm happy with my choice to stay here with Greg. It's so much better than kowtowing to Dad's every wish. The work is interesting and I'm around very nice people."_

_I saw the flicker in Nina's eyes when Jess mentioned their father's wishes. She started to argue. "But do you have enough to live on? I know there's the trust fund from Mother, but..."_

_"Believe me, despite my meager pay..."_

_"Hey, I don't pay you so little!"_

_Jess rolled her eyes. "...I'm doing just fine. I was able to get a mortgage on our condo and still be comfortable financially."_

_"You bought it yourself?" Nina stared at her sister, then glared at me._

_"Relax. It was part of a plan we had to mess with everyone's heads."_

_Nina's glare turned into a scowl._

_"A plan that worked." Jess grinned._

_What could I say to change Nina's attitude? "I'll be making the payments, so don't worry that your sister will be destitute before long."_

_"But if the condo's in Jess' name..."_

_"Only technically." I scrunched up my face. "In reality, it belongs to both of us."_

_"Dr. House, I expect that you can support Jess, but I still have my doubts about how long this will last. And when it ends, she'll be liable for the mortgage."_

_"What DID Petey tell you?" Jess asked. _

_"He seemed to think that Dr. House couldn't sustain a relationship."_

_"I wonder where he got that idea." But I thought I knew. "Jess and I are determined to make this last because we want it to."_

_"But Jess has to come home!" Nina closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she pleaded, "Please come back to Dorsey, Jess. I can't handle Dad on my own!"_

_"You know you don't have to put up with him running your life either. Being free from his demands is one of the better parts of living here. You could do the same thing, Nina. It's about time he learned that we're his daughters, not his servants."_

_"You don't understand."_

_"Of course I do. I've been where you are. Running when he snapped his fingers, dropping everything to meet his arbitrary orders. Breaking dates because my presence was required for some dinner meeting or last-minute "emergency". I won't do that anymore, and neither should you!" _

_"I don't know how to say 'no' to him. Yes, you did all those things, but there were also the times you refused, and for some reason he accepted it. The one time I tried, he made my life miserable for weeks, threatening to cut me off, to close my shop, even to prevent me from using my trust fund."_

_"Once you decide you don't need those things, that you don't need him, it will be easier. Trust me, Nina. You'll feel so much better when you do."_

_Niko returned with our food and Nina watched him as he placed the plates in front of us._

_"There are lots of perks to living in Princeton," I told her. "You should give it a try."_

_Nina looked from me to Jess and back again, lips pursed and brow furrowed. "Maybe I will."_


	71. Chapter 71

__A little background on the Giordano family in this chapter, and the finish of the meal at the Greek restaurant.__

_Chapter 71._

_"That was the best spanakopita I've had in a long time." Nina wiped here mouth and lifted her fork again to take her first bite of her entree. "Oh, my God! This is delicious!" After that she didn't say another word. She was too busy moaning with pleasure over each forkful. When she finally finished, she was beaming. "Thanks for bringing me here." I didn't think her eyes could shine any more, and then Niko came to collect our empty plates and they brightened considerably._

_"Have you saved room for dessert?" he asked, his eyes locking with Nina's. "We have fresh baklava and melomakarona, as well as rice pudding."_

_"I'm stuffed!" Nina said, patting her stomach and smiling sweetly back at him. _

_"Aw, c'mon. Niko, bring a plate of baklava and the cookies and we'll share," Jess said. "Wait until you taste his mama's creations, Nina!"_

_Once he was gone, I said, "I think Nina's more interested in another of mama's creations."_

_"Must you always be so crude, Dr. House?"_

_"Just call me House. Everyone does."_

_"You learn to dismiss a lot of what he says. Greg likes to mess with people, shock them, even rile them up. He's just interested in what their reactions will be. It's a kind of game."_

_"Don't go giving away all of my secrets!"_

_Jess laughed. "Nina won't tell, will you?"_

_"Who would I tell?"_

_The baklava was as flaky and delicious as usual, but what really won Nina over was the rice pudding that Niko insisted on bringing her. Now to me rice pudding is rice pudding. True this was a great example of the dessert, but to listen to Nina, this was the next best thing to sex. She didn't actually say that, still I was sure sex with Niko was on her mind the entire time she was eating. I wasn't about to burst her bubble._

_It was already after eight when we left the restaurant. Nina had followed us over from the condo so we walked to where the two cars were parked next to each other in the lot._

_"Do you know the way to the motel?" Jess asked her sister as Nina got into her BMW._

_"I have my GPS."_

_"Then I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital. The office where I'm working is on the fourth floor. Tell the __nurse at the main desk you're looking for the diagnostic department special study and she'll direct you."_

_Nina hesitated briefly, lips pressed together as if she was trying to decide something. "OK. I'll see you there sometime tomorrow morning."_

_I didn't know whether she had any other business to do while she was here. My impression was that she'd come just to talk Jess into abandoning the foolish idea of moving to Princeton permanently._

_"Goodbye, Dr. House. Thank you for a wonderful dinner." Nina held out a hand for me to shake. I stared at the well-manicured nails and the unchipped pale pink polish. Now, usually I don't shake hands with anyone, but in deference to Jess, I took her sister's hand and shook it once._

_Nina finally got into her car and drove off._

_"Well, I think we made some progress with her," Jess said._

_"I knew your father was very controlling but I would have thought a beautiful woman like Nina would have found a man to take her away from him long ago."_

_"You still think she's beautiful?" Was there a hint of jealousy in Jess' voice?_

_I knew I should reassure her, tell her she was more beautiful, but facts were facts. "Beauty is to be looked at, admired, not loved." Had I just said that?_

_Jess' mouth twitched. "You were supposed to compliment me on my looks."_

_"I don't have to tell you that you have a pretty face and a dynamite body, or that there's a lot more to you than how you look."_

_She fought the smile that was threatening to cross her face, but in the end gave up and grinned at me. "Thank you."_

_We got into the car and drove back to the condo. I hadn't yet begun to think of it as home, but that's what it was, our home. "So what did your father argue with his aunt about?"_

_"What? Oh, you mean when we went to Italy." Jess paused a moment, looking out at the houses we were passing. "It was a long-standing feud between his father and the rest of the family. When his father, my grandfather, came to the States, he promised to send for his two brothers and three sisters within a year. Unfortunately it was at the start of the depression. He worked on and off and could barely feed and house himself, let alone save up to bring his family over. They resented that but there was nothing he could do. _

_"When Nonno had been here three years, his brother, Giovanni, came over and the first thing he did was look him up, not to see how he was doing, but to beat him up. Giovanni eventually became quite wealthy selling produce but he and my grandfather never spoke. Nonno did OK, too, but every letter he sent back home to Italy was returned unopened. And then when we went to war against Italy, well, he completely gave up on ever seeing his family again."_

_"Where does your father come in?"_

_"When my father was growing up, Nonno constantly lamented the fact that he'd completely lost touch with the family. He told Father that maybe anyone left in Italy would be more willing to talk to him. After Mother died, Father began to search for his aunts, uncle and cousins still in Italy. He finally found that his aunt still lived in the same town and, without telling her, he arranged a trip for us all to meet her and her family." Jess grimaced. "You can imagine what happened when this seemingly wealthy American family showed up on her doorstep."_

_"She wasn't thrilled to see you."_

_Jess chuckled. "That's putting it mildly. She ranted at my father for all the slights, real or imagined, that Nonno had done to her."_

_"But what about the brother? What was his name? Giovanni? Hadn't he helped the others."_

_"He was the one she should have been angry with, but she took it out on Father as Nonno's representative. The fact that none of us spoke any Italian didn't help the situation. I'm not sure the interpreter conveyed everything either my father or his aunt said. Father decided to cut the visit short and took us, instead, to Greece. Our mother's family was from Greece, but had all emigrated to the U.S. Still, it was good to see where they came from."_

_We'd both been so caught up in the story Jess was telling that I'd driven past the condo and had to backtrack. As we parked in the driveway of the condo and got out of the car, I realized there was a lot I still didn't know about Jess and her family. But I would have plenty of time to hear it all._

_Walking in and seeing my furniture in the condo gave me a strange feeling, neither bad nor good, just strange, as if some parts of my world were changing and some remaining the same. It was true. That was what was happening. It didn't upset me as it might have a year or so before. Instead, it felt like a natural progression, one I could handle, especially with Jess at my side._

_I must have stood there staring into the living room because Jess asked, "What are you thinking?"_

_I looked at her questioning eyes. "I think we should move the table that's next to the couch, maybe closer to the window."_

_"But you always had it next to the couch."_

_"So? A person can change."_


	72. Chapter 72

__I'll be posting a chapter of this story every Sunday for the next couple of weeks, but then we'll be leaving for a three-week trip to New York by way of St. Louis and Ohio. During our trip, I'll post when I have the time and the internet connection.__

_Chapter 72._

_I wanted to witness Nina's meeting with the members of my team, especially the ones she didn't already know, so when I arrived at the hospital the next morning, I headed to the room where the study was going on. She was already there, looking over Jess' shoulder to her graphs of the data collected so far, and chatting amiably with Thirteen. They'd met in Dorsey, so I wasn't surprised. The rest of the team was no where in sight._

_But not for long. Foreman entered with a test subject, and Thirteen introduced him to Jess' sister._

_"We're entertaining spectators now?" he asked me._

_"Jess wanted to show Nina what we've accomplished here." I tried not to sound like I supported her wishes to see what he'd say._

_"This study is sensitive. We have to protect the anonymity of the patients and control subjects."_

_"I'm not interested in whose data you're collecting, just in what Jess is doing, and why she thinks she's so vital to the study." Nina crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him._

_He shrugged. "She's good with statistics. I suppose we could use anyone who's knows how to manipulte numbers, but she was here."_

_"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Foreman." There was a laugh in Jess' voice._

_"Jess, you know we couldn't have gotten this far without you crunching our numbers," Thirteen said, then turned to Foreman. Her glare matched Nina's, but it softened and morphed into a smile when she turned to Jess. "You didn't only analyze the data we gave you, you showed us how it was trending."_

_The man Foreman had brought with him looked from one person to the other, his forehead creased and his mouth turned down._

_Chase entered with another subject, breaking the silence that followed Thirteen's last remark. "Hello, Nina. I didn't know you were in town."_

_"Dr. Chase. Nice to see you again. I came to see what was keeping Jess so busy here."_

_"Actually she came to convince Jess that she's not needed here and should return to Dorsey."_

_"And you're going to convince Nina otherwise, House?"_

_"Oh, I don't think it will take much." _

_"I'm not easily swayed, Doctor."_

_"We'll see." I knew she was already on her way to siding with Jess against their father. "Well, tempus fugit and all that. I'll leave you lovely people to continue." With that, I strode to the door and out into the hall. I was surprised when Nina rushed after me._

_"Doctor House, wait!"_

_I stopped and turned, wondering what she wanted from me._

_"I need to talk to you."_

_"OK, so talk."_

_She looked around at the doctors, nurses and orderlies passing by. "Not here. Can we go to your office?"_

_She sounded so serious. It intrigued me. "OK. It's this way."_

_We were both silent until we entered my inner sanctum. I sat down at my desk, but Nina remained standing, wringing her hands as she looked around the place._

_"Speak."_

_She swallowed rather loudly. "After I left you and Jess last night I thought about what she said, about making a clean break from Father's control." She licked her lips. "I...I don't know how to do that. Jess has skills that she can use anywhere. I could see that she's already making a contribution to the study your team is doing. But what would I do if I moved away from Dorsey? I run a dress shop. The only reason it's even breaking even is because of Father's influence in Dorsey."_

_"Why are you coming to me with this?" I asked. "I'm not an employment agency."_

_"No, of course not." She was back to the hand-wringing thing again. "But I think you're a realistic man, one who wouldn't try to sugar-coat things for me. What chance do I have on my own?"_

_I wasn't surprised that Jess had put a bee in her sister's bonnet, but her worries about whether she could support herself if she did was a bit unexpected. "What can you did? I assume you went to college. What did you study?"_

_"I have a degree in American history." She chuckled dryly. "That and a dollar fifty can get you a cup of coffee."_

_"Where are you buying your brew?"_

_"Yeah, well, I guess it's more like two fifty, but you get my point."_

_"You run a dress shop."_

_"As I said, not particularly well. I mean we more than break even, but that's in Dorsey. I know next to nothing about merchandising or even fashion." _

_I looked her over. "You always dress well."_

_"I buy clothes for the shop and for myself based more on what's selling in the big department stores."_

_"So you have a strategy."_

_"I suppose so." She didn't sound convinced._

_"Don't you have a trust fund like your sister."_

_"Father pulls the strings on those. I'm surprised that he hasn't cut Jess off."_

_"How do you know he hasn't?" I wasn't sure myself. The subject had never come up. Jess just seemed to have a source of money when she wanted or needed it._

_"That's true." She looked down, then back up at me. Her beautiful face was spoiled by the frown and the crease in her forehead. "He can be vindictive, you know. Look at how he's treated Petey."_

_"You don't need your father," I insisted. "Or your trust fund." I had no idea how she's support herself, but it was more important for her to break the tie to her father. It would help Jess, too, if she did. _

_"Clerking in a dress shop or a department store won't pay the bills. If I do this, I need to find something where jobs are plentiful and pay well."_

_I certainly couldn't hire her. There was nothing she could do for me or my team. While we both pondered that, Wilson knocked on my door._

_"Ah, Dr. Wilson. Just in time."_

_His eyebrows squished together. "In time for what?"_

_"We were just deciding what kind of job Nina should pursue so she could stay in Princeton."_

_She turned and smiled at him. The expression was automatic at first, but when she got a good look it expanded to her eyes. Nina looked at me before turning back to him. She held out a slim hand. "I'm Nina Giordano, and you must be Dr. Wilson."_

_Wilson grinned the way he always did when confronted by a beautiful woman. I could hear the gears in his head as he worked out how he'd romance this one. He bestowed his trademark boyish smile on her, and gripped her hand. "Very nice to meet you."_

_"Well, I'll let you two kids get acquainted and I'll get back to what I was doing."_

_"And what was that?" Wilson knew me too well._

_"Not solving the world's problems."_

_He looked between us, then followed his eyes with his right forefinger. "Did I interrupt something?"_

_"I think we were done."_

_Nina nodded slightly. "For now. Just think about what I asked, Dr. House." She turned to leave._

_Wilson called as he followed her out, "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?"_

_I had other things to think about besides what Nina could do if she relocated to Princeton, but over the next hour, my mind kept returning to her words. So when Jess knocked at my door at noon I passed the problem on to her. "You need to find something that Nina can do here."_

_"Here in the hospital or in Princeton in general?"_

_"Either. She's seriously considering what you said about cutting the apron strings."_

_"My father doesn't where an apron, but I get what you mean."_

_"She's afraid she won't be able to find a job that will support her if he cuts off her trust fund. By the way, did he cut off yours?"_

_"What? Actually, he did, but I had earned enough of my own that I didn't need it. Otherwise I would have filed a suit to get it back." Her eyes narrowed the way the did when she was thinking about more than one thing at a time. "Nina wants to move here?"_

_"If she can afford to. I imagine she has some expensive habits to support."_

_"Only buying shoes, but since she runs the dress shop, she gets them for half price."_

_"So, what's she good at that she could parlay into job skills?"_

_The eyes narrowed again, this time accompanied by a scratch at the right ear. Deep thinking. Suddenly, Jess' face cleared. "She's terrific at throwing parties."_


	73. Chapter 73

__Here is this week's chapter. Sorry it's a bit short. But my ideas about what will happen with Nina are beginning to gel.__

_**Chapter 83.**_

_"It might be better if you were the one to remind Nina about her party planning skills. It's not the sort of thing I'd know about or even understand, unless the party involved strippers and plenty of beer."_

_Jess laughed. "You know, there's probably a big demand for planners to take care of all of the arrangements for busy people. Let me do some research first before I bring it up with her."_

_"You'd better hurry. She needs to have some reassurance that she can make it on her own."_

_"OK. I should be able to get enough this afternoon to talk to her about it later today."_

_"Does that mean we have to have dinner with her again?"_

_"You were the one who just said she needs quick reassurance." She pursed her lips and tapped her index finger against them. "How about this: I'll call her on our way home tonight and tell her you asked me to help her."_

_"Fine. That should work."_

_"And now, how about some lunch?"_

_I stood and walked toward her. "I'm ready if you are." I took her arm and steered her out of my office. Now that everyone knew about our relationship, I had no objections to eating with her in the hospital cafeteria. In fact, I enjoyed the looks we got when we walked in, holding each other's hands._

_I smiled when I saw Nina at a table with Wilson. Once we'd filled our trays and paid for our food, I steered Jess to a table nearby so we could listen in on their conversation. Unfortunately, they were both speaking very softly. In fact, it wasn't until Chase and Ellie, with little Christopher in his mother's arms, approached their table that I even heard Nina._

_"Robert told me that you were visiting," Ellie said. "Isn't this a great place?"_

_"Hi Ellie. Hello again Dr. Chase." From my vantage point I could see Nina's face as she studied the toddler, who stared right back at her. "He looks a lot like Petey did as a baby."_

_"Yes, that's what Jess said. Did you want to hold him?"_

_"I...I...sure. Why not?"_

_Ellie put the kid in Nina's arms and he reached out to grab Nina's nose. Everyone laughed. "Let go of Aunt Nina's nose, Chris. We've gotta get him some lunch." Ellie took her son back and nuzzled him, making him giggle. "Tell Auntie Nina 'Bye Bye'." She waved Christopher's hand at Nina as she walked __away with Chase. Nina's eyes followed them to the food line._

_"He's a cute kid." Wilson's eyes were on Nina's face and she turned back to him._

_"Yes he is."_

_"If you stick around, you can get to know him." _

_"First I have to find a way to support myself here."_

_His eyes narrowed. "I thought you had a dress shop in Dorsey."_

_"If I leave Dorsey I won't."_

_"You can work at one here. There are plenty of women's clothing stores and a couple of department stores nearby." _

_I was glad she was sharing her concerns with Wilson. If he and Jess helped Nina make the transition away from her father, I wouldn't have to. _

_"Looks like Wilson has taken a shine to my sister." Jess grinned._

_"Just make sure she knows he's been married and divorced three times."_

_"Has he really? I would think any woman would be happy to be married to him and that he'd be a doting husband."_

_I shrugged. "He likes woman."_

_"So he cheated on those three wives?"_

_I nodded. "And the third cheated on him. Funny thing is he's remained friends with the other two."_

_"He's your best friend, isn't he?" Jess tilted her head as she looked at me._

_"Some would say my only friend."_

_Her voice softened. "I'm your friend." _

_I studied her as I thought about that. She was right. "Yes you are."_

_Jess smiled again._

_We'd missed the end of Nina and Wilson's conversation, but I was sure I'd get an earful from Wilson later. They'd finished their food and stood to leave. Nina smiled and stopped at our table to talk to Jess. "I'm heading back to the motel. I'll call you later."_

_I waited until they were out of earshot before turning to Jess. "So, how are you going to handle her?"_

_"I'll just let her tell me what she thinks her skills are. If she doesn't bring up the party planning, I will, but I think it'll have to be her idea or else she won't buy into it fully."_

_I nodded. "And meanwhile you'll look into the size of the demand for that around here. Lots of wealthy people who work in New York or Philly making big bucks commute from here, you know."_

_She nodded. "Well, I'd better get back to number crunching." Jess looked at her plate but there was nothing left to eat. She smiled at me and stood. "See you later." _

_"Yeah." I watched her leave, tilting my head a little. My plate was empty, too, so it was time to see whether I could get any more food. Chase, Ellie and Christopher were seated not too far away. Casually, I sauntered their way and sat in the empty fourth chair. The toddler had bits of French fry and hamburger on a napkin on the tray of his booster seat. I reached over and snagged one of the pieces of fry. He looked at me steadily and I wondered whether he'd scream or cry. _

_Instead he just said, "Mine."_

_I had to laugh and give it back. "Yes, I suppose so."_

_"Really, Doctor House, taking food out of the mouth of a baby." Ellie's voice was accusing, but she was smiling at me._

_"Clearly he's not a baby anymore."_

_Suddenly Christopher picked up a piece of meat and held it out to me. How could I not take it? _

_"Thank you, Christopher."_

_He giggled._

_"I've been teaching him to share." His proud mama brushed a lock of brown hair off his forehead. "That was very good, Chris."_

_"So, how long is Nina staying in town?" Chase was talking to me, but his eyes were fixed on Ellie and her son._

_"Who knows. Jess has put the idea into her head that she, too, can break away from her father and Dorsey." I nodded head toward Ellie. "There seems to be a lot of that going on."_

_"I like it here, and it's not that far from my parents. I've been thinking about putting Christopher in daycare now that he's doing so well, and getting a job."_

_"I'm sure Chase would like that."_

_"I certainly wouldn't object."_

_"There's a family type of restaurant we went to last night that seemed to be hiring. First I'll have to line up care for Chris and then I'll apply."_

_"You can do something better than waitressing," Chase told her. _

_"Like what?"_

_"You're great with Christopher. Maybe you can work in a daycare center yourself."_

_"I'm not a teacher."_

_"But they always need helpers. It might be just the right thing for you."_

_Neither one of them saw my eyes roll, but Christopher did. He laughed. So I made faces at him, stuck out my tongue and crossed my eyes. He laughed even harder. That got Chase and Ellie's attention._

_Ellie laughed too. "Maybe you're the one who should get a job at a daycare center."_

_"Nah, he'd turn grumpy at mealtimes and scare all the kids," Chase told her, but he was smiling. "C'mon. I've got to get back to work before my boss starts cracking the whip." He looked pointedly at me and I feigned innocence. "And you said you were going to put Chris down for a nap."_

_As they walked off, I watched them, so I saw Christopher smile over his mother's shoulder and wave to me._


	74. Chapter 74

__Let me know what you think about the developments in this chapter. I should be able to post another one next week before we leave, but after that it will be when I can.__

_**Chapter 74.**_

_Later that afternoon, Jess came by to tell me what she'd found in her search about party planners in the Princeton area._

_"There are only four who can handle the bigger parties, and they don't seem to have to compete for business."_

_"Because there's so much?" I guessed._

_She nodded. "There are several parties every weekend, especially in the summer and winter. If Nina gets started now, she could be well-established by this coming December, in time for the holiday bashes. I bet she's better than any of the ones out there."_

_"How lucrative is the business?"_

_"It's hard to tell. They all charge big bucks, but they also have lots of expenses. If she can minimize those, my sister will do well." She sat on the edge of my desk. "I'm going to call her now and tell her."_

_"Weren't you going to wait until she brought it up herself? You can't start by bombarding her with numbers."_

_Jess smiled sheepishly. "Guess since statistics are my 'thing' I'm more comfortable talking about those than anything else."_

_"Anything?" I touch the leg closest to me and leered at her._

_"Well, maybe not everything." She had that closed mouth smile on her face that I liked so much. "OK, how about this? I tell her you'd mentioned that she was considering staying in Princeton and let her bring up the need for a job. Then we can segue into what skills she has."_

_"That should work, but you know your sister much better than I do."_

_"I'll let you know what she says." She slid off the desk and came over for a wet smooch. "See you later big guy."_

_I watched her sashay out the door. She did a little fanny wiggle just for my benefit, making me smile. The rest of the afternoon wasn't as pleasant, although I had a visit from Wilson, as expected, that provided some comic relief._

_"What do you know about Jess' sister?" He looked so serious._

_"Nina?"_

_"She has another one?"_

_"No." I sat back in my chair and put my hands behind my head. "What did you want to know?" But the question was mostly rhetorical. "Obviously, she's quite lovely. She's single, has lived in Dorsey all her life. I think she went to college but I'm not sure she graduated. No health issues that I'm aware of. She owns a BMW, runs a dress shop that just about breaks even, and jumps when Daddy calls. She cares more about her siblings than she lets on." I shrugged to indicate that was all I knew._

_"So far I haven't heard any of your usual detrimental remarks."_

_"Aside from being tied to Peter Giordano, Sr., she's OK." I smirked at him. "You're interested. In fact, I think you're more than interested."_

_"I...I may be."_

_"You don't need my permission to pursue her, or Jess' either."_

_"I wasn't asking for it, just for some background. I...I don't want to get into a situation where I'm blindsided by something that you can tell me about beforehand."_

_I nodded. "Fair enough."_

_"So, you think I should go for it?"_

_I nodded, knowing it would keep Nina busy and out of Jess and my hair. "Give it your best shot. Who knows? She may be Mrs. Wilson number four."_

_He did that 'don't be an ass, House' thing with his eyes. "She wants to find a job here in Princeton. I think I'll offer to help her."_

_I smiled at him. "You do that." It would keep Wilson out of our hair, too._

_"Well, I have a patient coming in five minutes. Just wanted to run this past you."_

_"Will wonders never cease. The panty-peeler asking my advice on pursuing a woman."_

_"Later, House."_

_I watched him go, wondering where his pursuit of Nina would lead. I just hoped it wouldn't bring a disaster that Jess and I would have to clean up. And that worry was reinforced by my next visitor._

_"House, do you have a minute?" Thirteen stood in my doorway._

_"It depends."_

_"What's the story on Nina Giordano? Is she staying in town?"_

_"She's hoping to." My eyes narrowed involuntarily. "You're not interested in her, are you?"_

_She blushed slightly. "She... does interest me."_

_I wondered if I should tell her she'd have to stand in line behind Wilson. Then again, I didn't really know what Nina's sexual orientation was. I'd have to ask Jess if she knew._

_I continued to study Thirteen until she went on. "Look, I don't want to be stepping on any toes, yours, Jess', or anyone else's." I continued to study her. "House, say something, even if it's snarky."_

_I smiled. "Your romantic relationships are your own."_

_"You never thought so before."_

_"Maybe being in my own relationship has changed me."_

_"It has, but not that much. You can still be the same jerk you always were. But I take your lack of reaction to mean you won't stop me if I pursue this."_

_"Pursue Nina, you mean."_

_"Yes."_

_"Be my guest." I was already looking forward to where this would go. I certainly wasn't going to tell Thirteen that Wilson was about to make his own pitch, and I doubted I'd warn Wilson about Thirteen either. Let the games begin._

_She grimaced, then nodded, before walking away. I could see we were in for some interesting times ahead. Would any of the others put in a claim for Jess' sister? Chase was already so involved with Ellie and her son that I doubted he'd give Nina a second look. But what about the short one or the black one?_

_I smiled and leaned back as my mind conjured up all sorts of interesting scenarios. My reverie was interrupted by the approach of Petey Giordano. Now, what did he want?_

_"House, do you have a minute?"_

_"Suddenly everyone thinks I'm the keeper of lost minutes."_

_"Huh?" As usual my sarcasm went right over his head._

_"What did you want?"_

_"Oh! Well, I was wondering if you knew of anyone who was hiring."_

_I chuckled. "I should hang a sign on my door saying employment agency." It was true that Ellie hadn't asked me to find a job for her, but I knew she was looking and Nina had asked._

_Petey got that one. "I know you're a doctor and all."_

_"You can try the hospital HR department. They're always looking for orderlies."_

_"Oh! I hadn't thought of that."_

_I stopped short of rolling my eyes. "Petey, are you planning on staying here? What about your job in Florida?"_

_"I guess I can go back to that, but I'd rather stay where my sisters are. They aren't as judgmental as my father."_

_"In other words, they don't blame you for your mother's death. Tell me, what exactly happened that day?"_

_He frowned. "I hate to think about it." And sighed. "I'd just gotten my license and Mother said I could drive her and my sisters to the mall in Frederickstown. That's about ten miles away. Anyway, we'd just left the parking lot and suddenly my head was filled with all of this noise. I...I took my hands off the wheel to cover my ears...and the next thing I knew they were loading me into an ambulance. Honestly, I can't tell you what happened other than what I was told afterward."_

_"So your hyperacusis was a factor in the accident." I scratched the back of my head. It didn't even matter what the sounds were that he heard that caused his reaction. "Had you ever had a problem like that before? Ever felt overwhelmed by sounds?"_

_He took time to think about that. I would have thought that he'd remember something like that. Finally, he shook his head. "It's pretty quiet in Dorsey." Petey pressed his lips together. "There was this one time..." He shook his head again. "It wasn't the same, but one time when I was at a birthday party...it was for Nina, I think. I didn't really want to be there. My friends were going to a movie. But anyway, it was a big family deal and the house was full of people. And the music, well, it wasn't hard rock or rap or anything, but it was loud! I had to run out of the house to get away from it and Father came after me, yelling at the top of his lungs that I was being rude to his guests."_

_"And now that you've had treatment?"_

_"I don't know. I don't think I've done anything or been anywhere noisy." His eyes narrowed. "What does this have to do with my finding a job here?"_

_"Nothing. But there's something I've been wondering about. That job in Florida...that amusement park was noisy. Didn't that bother you?"_

_"What? Oh. All of the workers wore earplugs. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it helped. And mostly we worked away from the crowds."_

_"And now? Do you think you could work in a noisy, crowded place?"_

_His shoulders rose in a shrug. "I guess so."_

_"Then my best advice would be to check with HR for a job as an orderly." Was I letting myself in for trouble, suggesting that Petey stay around, and work so close to us? We'd have to wait and see._

_He nodded and walked away, deep in thought. I had a lot to talk to Jess about and wondered what she'd think of all of the developments._


	75. Chapter 75

__This is the last chapter before we leave on our trip. I apologize that it's so short, but I wanted to give you some more of the story while I can. I'll post when I have more and have Internet access.__

_**Chapter 75.**_

_"Wait until I tell you what Nina said!" Jess had a gleam in her eyes and a grin on her face as we walked to the garage at the end of the day. There was even a bounce to her step._

_"Got a lot to tell you, too, but you can go first." What she said might answer some of the questions I had about her sister. Besides, she seemed to be bursting to tell me._

_"Well, she didn't even think about her organizing abilities until I reminded her of the fabulous parties we used to have when Mother was still alive."_

_We'd reached the car and got in._

_Jess buckled up, sat back and then went on. "She seemed reluctant at first to even consider the idea, said it reminded her too much of our mother and how much fun she could be. It does me, too, but we all have to get on with our lives."_

_I nodded._

_"Then she brought up the problems with staffing, with getting the word out that she was available, with planning multiple parties at the same time. She thought of so many obstacles to success I was beginning to rethink the whole thing myself. And then I said, 'you can do it as a tribute to mother, advertise online, and use a hiring agency'. Well, then she really surprised me by asking, 'do you really think I can do this?'. My sister, the confident one, the one with everything going for her, was asking me to encourage her!"_

_"So, long story short, she's going to do it?"_

_"She's going to try."_

_"Well, that's one down." I nodded, my eyes swiveling to her briefly._

_Jess looked at me through narrowed eyes._

_"Ellie wants to stay here, too." I glanced at her to see her reaction to that._

_She just shrugged, as if it was something she expected. "Well of course she does. Chase is here."_

_"And she wants to find a job."_

_"Ah, the plot thickens." She was silent for a full minute while I maneuvered the car into the street and turned toward home. Jess must have been thinking about Ellie because she said, "Well, she has lots of experience as a waitress. Maybe Nina can hire her."_

_"I hadn't even thought of that. Chase has been urging her to try for work at a daycare center, since she has to find one for Christopher anyway."_

_"Either way, I don't think she'll have a problem getting something."_

_I nodded again. She had a point. "And then there's Petey." I could feel her eyes on me but I needed to drive around a truck that had stopped to make a delivery. _

_"What about my brother?"_

_"He's decided that, if you and Nina are staying here, he will too, but then he'll need to find some kind of work. I sent him to the hospital HR to see whether they need an orderly, but I have no idea how well he'd do with that."_

_"Nina could use him too. He hated the parties as a kid, but he was a wiz at things like napkin folding, writing place cards, and even flower arranging." _

_"Petey? You're kidding!" We stopped for a traffic light and I looked at her. _

_She chuckled. "No, actually I'm not. He was also a great taste tester for the food she was going to have. I'd completely forgotten that about him!"_

_"Well, even if the orderly thing works out, he could probably still help her when he's not working."_

_Jess nodded. "Good point. I'll have to mention that to Nina, remind her how she was afraid he'd be underfoot when Mother insisted she let him help, but instead he proved quite useful."_

_We were moving again. Traffic was heavy but no worse than usual. "There was something else I wanted to ask you about."_

_"Go on."_

_"Has Nina ever expressed interest in women?"_

_"Huh? Are you asking me whether she's a lesbian?"_

_I shrugged. "She must be giving off some kind of vibe, because Thirteen's interested in her."_

_Jess pursed her lips. "Hmmm. She's dated a few men, of course, but never been serious about any of them."_

_"Wilson's going to take a shot at her, too."_

_I saw Jess grin out of the corner of my eye. "Oh, this will be fun! I bet you're already envisioning the whole thing."_

_I couldn't deny it. "So you think there could really be a love triangle? I wonder, though, how it might __work out."_

_She nodded. "Either way, it'll give her another reason to stay here."_

_"The other thing I wonder about is how your father will react to having all of his children out from under his thumb."_

_"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. Or should I say worrying." Her smile was gone._

_"Why? What do you think he'll do?"_

_"That's just it. All I have to go by was his reaction to Petey after the accident. And he sent Nina to convince me to return to Dorsey." She shook her head. "He's capable of anything, I guess. I remember once when Ed Liddy tried to open a competing hardware store. Father used all his pull to keep it from happening."_

_"You think he'll try to force the issue?"_

_"I think he'll find a way to make life difficult for all of us, but I can't be sure."_

_We'd reached our street and I looked for a spot close to the condo. "We'll handle him when we have to." I knew that did little to reassure Jess, but since I didn't know what Pete Sr. might do, there was no point in dwelling on it. Of course, we could make some contingency plans. "Do you think he'll go after Nina or you first?"_

_She turned to me, her hand on the door handle. "Knowing Father, he'll attack us both if he can. We have to anticipate what approach he'll use and be prepared."_

_"Can he do more than take away your access to your trust funds?"_

_"Oh, yeah!" Jess took a deep breath and let it out. "He's got a long reach in this state. He may not have the clout in Princeton that he does in Dorsey, but that won't stop him. I just hope this doesn't brim over onto you and the hospital."_

_We walked to our door and went in. I dropped my bag on the floor but Jess put hers on the small table nearby. I strode into the living room and collapsed on the couch. What Jess had said was food for thought. I'd dealt with overbearing and arrogant people before, and not always well. But this was Jess' father we were talking about. I'd have to tread carefully._

_"Should I make us something for dinner or do you want to order in?" Jess' voice penetrated my thoughts. If there was something that could distract me, aside from sex that is, it was my next meal._

_"What did you have in mind?"_

_She puffed out her lips. "Um, I think we might have some pasta and spaghetti sauce." She went into the kitchen and I heard a cupboard opening. Then Jess called back. "Guess not. The cupboard's bare."_

_"Let's just get some Chinese food and you can come cuddle instead of slaving over the stove."_

_"Right." I heard her voice as she called in our order. She didn't even have to ask me what I wanted._

_She joined me on the couch. "The food won't be here for at least a half hour."_

_"Whatever will we do?" Soon we were doing more than cuddling. "Do we have enough time to christen another room in the house?"_

_Jess laughed. "We'll make time."_


	76. Chapter 76

__I apologize profusely for the delay in posting this chapter. During our travels, I've had a lot less time to write, post, read, etc. than I anticipated, and often had no Internet access. We'll be home in a few days, and I hope to be able to return to posting regularly.__

_**Chapter 76.**_

_The next day, as I sat in my office, whiling away my time on my computer, I had a brainstorm. It took Jess' ideas for Nina's new party catering venture one or two steps further. I grinned as I planned how I'd tell Jess, and then we'd both explain the plan to Nina._

_When Jess stopped by at eleven to give me the latest statistics from the study, I had my chance. I barely glanced at the stats, then placed them to the side on my desk. "We've been going about this all wrong."_

_Her brow frowned along with her mouth. "The study?"_

_I shook my head. _

_Blood drained from her cheeks. "You mean you don't think we should be living together?"_

_"Huh? No!" I snickered. "I'm not talking about us. I mean Nina. She's good at organizing, especially parties, right? But that doesn't mean she has to start a catering company from scratch, hire all the staff herself, or develop a client list."_

_Jess crossed her arms and stared at me. "And you're going to tell me what you think it does mean." _

_I was so intent on explaining the idea, I ignored the sarcasm in her voice. "She should convince some restaurants that she can manage their party rooms. The only staff she'd need would be Petey and Ellie. She won't even need a chef. The food would come out of the restaurant kitchen."_

_Jess frowned. "You can't run a business like that with just three people, Greg."_

_"Why not? The restaurants will be able to offer home catering with Nina to organize it, and they'll use their own staff with the addition of Ellie and your brother, so it'll be to everyone's advantage."_

_"But she'll be limited by what the restaurants can produce."_

_"Any more objections?" I didn't let her answer. Instead, I waved that off as a negligible problem. "She can get around that."_

_Jess finally grinned. "And she'll start with The Taverna, I suppose."_

_"That's certainly a possibility. As long as Niko is included in the package." _

_"I guess it could work, at least to get her started." Although she wasn't as enthusiastic as I'd expected, at least she was getting the idea. "But it'll be up to Nina to decide whether she's willing to relinquish so much control to the hands of someone else. And also whether she wants to hire Ellie and Petey."_

_"So we're going to tell her about the plan?"_

_"Sure. As you say, why not." She pursed her lips. "This approach might also keep Nina's vulnerability to my father to a minimum."_

_"How do you figure that?"_

_"He might take each of his children on, but I doubt he'd attempt to tangle with any restaurant owners he doesn't know."_

_That surprised me. The day before she was worried that he'd somehow attack the hospital because she was working here, so why would he hesitate with a restaurant? "Why not?"_

_She took a deep breath. "Because he has more respect for anyone who runs a restaurant than for anyone else." Her grimace indicated that she wasn't any too happy about that._

_"There's got to be more to it than that. What part are you leaving out?"_

_"Oh, only that his family owned a restaurant in Italy, and his brother, the one I told you about? The one who came to the U.S. after Father did, he made a fortune in the restaurant business, in addition to the produce business and everything else he touched."_

_I scratched my chin as I thought about that. "He never made the attempt himself." But then I remembered the restaurants in Dorsey. How could I have forgotten? "Except for the Italian restaurant you told me about, the one that closed after your grandmother died, and Boomers, which seems to be going strong."_

_Jess nodded. "It's not the success he wanted it to be. I think he dreamed of starting a chain of bar and grill places throughout New Jersey, but there's just the one."_

_"It seems to draw a crowd. The food was good the couple of times I ate there."_

_She shrugged. "It's the only game in town, and it doesn't hurt that the cook, Shorty Travers, settled down there with his wife and six kids."_

_"Why didn't he ever think of putting Nina in charge of Boomers instead of the dress shop?"_

_"She's a mere girl. He couldn't imagine that she'd be able to handle a real business. Hmmm, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all."_

_"But he accepted your abilities to manage his financial affairs."_

_"My father ___can___ be practical. He might not have any respect for women in general, but I showed him what I could do early on, so he ignored the fact that I was female."_

_"Then how can he object to what you're doing now?"_

_Jess shook her head. "He hasn't yet. But he won't be happy that I've convinced Nina to attempt anything he's certain she can't do."_

_"So he'd be wrong on two counts. You didn't convince Nina of anything she wouldn't have eventually done on her own." I grinned. "And she can do it."_

_She put a hand on my arm and grinned at me. "I'm glad you have so much faith in her."_

_"I have faith in you, and you say she's good at organizing parties, so what else am I to think?"_

_Jess suddenly shrugged. "I guess we'll see what he does or at least tries to do when she tells him her plans."_

_"Whatever she decides to do, and if she even tells him."_

_"Oh, she'll tell him. I think she'll take great satisfaction in doing so, even if she worries about his retaliation. I do think she'll go for your idea." She put her hands around my neck. "The first step is to share your plan with Nina. I'll call her later. Meanwhile, I'd better get back to my numbers." She let go of me, stepped back, and reached for the report she'd brought me. "Lunch in forty-five minutes?"_

_I nodded, then watched her leave. I decided to spend the forty-five minutes putting together a defense against Peter Giordano Sr. I might not need it, but it was best to be prepared. The bits and pieces I'd learned from Jess and her siblings about dear old dad gave me a few leads to follow. The first, and hopefully the best, would be to contact the man's brother, the successful one, the one with contacts in the restaurant business. _

_All I knew was that his name was Giovanni, he had a produce-selling empire and had branched out into the restaurant business. A search on the name Giovanni Giordano and produce drew a blank. Maybe he changed his name. Peter hadn't always had that name, surely. Probably Pietro or something. So I searched on John or Johnny Giordano and bingo! The man had a produce empire indeed. And not one, but three restaurants, one not too far from Princeton. Well, well, well. This would work quite well, that is if he'd be willing to work with his niece._

_At noon I went to find Jess to tell her the latest wrinkle, and to have lunch. _

_"What?" Hands on hips, she scowled at me when I told her what I thought. "Are you trying to make matters worse?"_

_"Why would it be worse?"_

_"Aligning Nina with Uncle Giovanni will really make my father angry!"_

_"I thought he wanted his to set things right with his brother."_

_She shook her head. "Not anymore. He's sworn vengeance on the entire family."_

_I added that piece of information to the picture I had of Peter Giordano. "OK, let's switch this around. __What if Nina went to your father for his help in setting up a business to rival Giovanni's?"_

_"You mean you think she should open her own restaurant?"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because..." Her brows drew together and she shrugged. "I guess it's a possibility. One with a big party room for people to hold wedding receptions and sweet sixteens and anniversary parties."_

_"Does anyone have sweet sixteen parties any more?"_

_"You'd be surprised, although they've come a long way from what they used to be. We can give Nina all of your suggestions and see which one catches her fancy." She smiled. "I'd like to help her set it up from a business prospective, that is, if my boss will give me the time."_

_I worked my mouth as I pretended to consider that, then finally nodded. "But now we have more important things to do. Let's eat."_


	77. Chapter 77

__As promised, here is another chapter. Let me know what you think about the direction House and Jess are going. I'd love to hear from you all.__

_**Chapter 77.**_

_"I guess we should have dinner with Nina tonight after all," Jess said as we headed back to our offices after lunch. _

_I didn't mind because we had a lot to talk to her to convince her to try the ideas we had for her new venture. "We should take her to your uncle's restaurant," I told Jess._

_She shook her her head. "Let's talk to her first before we broach that possibility. I'm more and more convinced that it's a lousy idea, a move that will infuriate my father even more, and none of us need that."_

_"You're not really afraid of him, are you?" _

_"Well, afraid might be a little strong, but I'd rather not have to deal with him when he's angry."_

_"OK. So where should we go instead?"_

_"We can still do Italian, just not my uncle's place. How about Mario's?"_

_You could always get a good meal at the place she mentioned. Even their pizza was great. "Call her and tell her to meet us there at six thirty. I'll make a reservation."_

_Her eyes narrowed in speculation. "I wonder if they ever considered going into the catering business."_

_I shrugged. "They do home delivery, but I guess that's not the same thing, is it?" _

_"They also often have parties going on in one of the dining rooms." She scratched the side of her mouth. "Something to consider. Well, I've gotta get back to my stats." She put a hand on my shoulder and kissed my cheek. "See you later."_

_I watched her walk off, then made to my office. Jess had given me something else to investigate, the ownership and finances of Mario's restaurant. I would check into the Greek place, too, while I was at it. Nothing beat being prepared._

_On the surface, Mario's appeared to be owned and run by the Mancini family. Their bottom line was in the black and their customer base had remained constantly good for many years. Digging further, I got my first big surprise. They bought their produce from none other than Johnny Giordano. I wondered if that was all they got from him. If so, his empire was even bigger than we thought._

_Since it wasn't a publicly held company, much of the financial data wasn't available. I'd have ask Jess whether she knew of ways to get at it. Meanwhile I moved on to The Taverna. It, too, was a family-owned business. After what I'd learned about Mario's, I tried to find out about their suppliers, but the information wasn't accessible. It was good to know that there were still some family-owned and __-operated businesses in this country that were doing well._

_I decided to approach this from another direction. Although Johnny had firm control of his companies, they were publicly held, so there was more financial information available, at least to anyone who owned stock in the companies. I wondered if anyone I knew did. Imagine my surprise when I found that three percent of the stock in the produce company was owned by none other than Peter Giordano. Now this was getting even more interesting. Why would he own stock in his brother's firm? Was he planning something? And if so, what? Three percent wasn't a whole lot, but it did give the holder voting rights._

_I didn't find any other stockholders that I knew, but that didn't mean anything. I'd have to investigate all the holding companies listed to find out who sat on which boards. Not my kind of puzzle solving. I'd leave that to Jess, too._

_What I'd learned meant that, if Nina formed an alliance of any kind with her uncle, she'd be almost as connected to her father as she'd always been. Did she want to do that? Did I want her to do that? Hell, yes, especially if I wanted to know what Peter Sr. was up to. _

_I wondered whether Johnny was aware that his brother was one of the hundreds of people who owned a piece of his produce company. There was no way to know what he'd think or do if he found out._

_My pondering was rudely interrupted by the appearance at my door of the short one. "House, we're just about finished examining all of the test subjects. We can recruit some more, but I think we have enough data to prove the connections between the two forms of the disorder and two chromosomal aberrations."_

_I nodded once. "Good. It's time we finished this study."_

_"We'll start writing up the results. Did you want to review what we've got?"_

_"Of course I do. You're not going to publish anything with my name on it that I haven't vetted."_

_"It'll take a few days, but Jess is almost finished with her part."_

_"Make sure you acknowledge her part in the study."_

_He smiled. "Of course." He turned and left._

_It wasn't much later that Jess knocked on his door and entered. "Did you hear? We've finished with the patients and now it's all over but the writing."_

_"And rewriting."_

_She nodded. "And rewriting. But it won't be much longer before the world knows what we've proven."_

_"And your work here is almost over, too." That was both a good thing and a not so good one._

_"Well, yes. I guess so. Unless you have some other stats you want me to process."_

_"No, I have something else I'd like you to do."_

_"Well, I'll do that anyway." She gave me her sultriest look._

_"That wasn't what I mean. Mario's buys some of their produce from your uncle, but I can't find out any more about it. The kicker is that your father owns a piece of your uncle's produce company? I mean you were daddy's accountant, you should know where his money is invested."_

_"Are you accusing me of something?" She frowned and her eyes shot daggers at me._

_"No!" I held up a hand. "I'm just asking whether you can tell me more than I can get out of online information."_

_She sighed and her entire body relaxed. "I never handled my father's investments. He had someone else for that. I think he might have worried that it would give me too much power. Does he really have stock in Uncle Giovanni's company?"_

_"Only three percent, but who knows what I couldn't find."_

_Understanding shone in her eyes and she finally smiled. "You want me to get information on where else he made investments."_

_"Exactly."_

_"Greg, if Nina decides to work with our uncle, will that give Dad any hold on her?"_

_"As far as I could tell, his investments are only in the produce company and she'd be working with the restaurant side. But who knows? And maybe she'd be able to ferret out some info we could use."_

_"All the more reason for me to find out how tied my father is to my uncle's companies. You don't have to twist my arm. I'm curious myself now. Maybe this will give us a way to force him to release our trust funds, not that I really need mine."_

_"You haven't invested in Giordano Produce too, have you?"_

_She laughed. "No, but if I'd thought of it, I might have. The little I have is invested in very safe mutual funds."_

_"Spoken like a true accountant." I'd often marveled at how she could be so conservative about her money and work and such a tiger in bed. The fact that she'd taken up with me spoke volumes about what chances she'd take._

_Jess shrugged. "There's no reason for me to play fast and loose with my money."_

_I wasn't one to fling mine about either, but I did like to make bets, usually when I had a good idea I'd __win. "I don't think any of this should change what we're going to propose to Nina."_

_"I'll just check my father's holdings in Uncle Giovanni's restaurant business, and while I'm at it, look into Marios' connections."_

_"You know your uncle uses the name Johnny Giordano."_

_She nodded. "Somewhere along the line I heard that. OK. I've got an hour or two of work to finish on the study and then I'll start investigating the brothers Giordano." She looked at her watch. "See you again at five? I'll have Nina meet us at six thirty."_

_"I already made the reservation. And that'll give us plenty of time for pre-dinner fun."_

_She was laughing when she left._

_I knew I could trust Jess to get all of the information we'd need. How much we'd share with Nina would depend on her reaction to our proposal. One more thought occurred to me and I was surprised that neither Jess nor I had come up with it before. Boomers had to get produce from somewhere, too. I wondered whether it was from Uncle Johnny's company._

_There was nothing online to help me. Jess might know, but if she did, she would have said something by now. Then again, she wasn't the one who had worked there. I stood and headed out in search of someone who had, Ellie Giordano._


	78. Chapter 78

__I hope this is not becoming too convoluted, and I also hope this plotline is interesting. I'm curious myself where it will go.__

__Read and enjoy, and if you're so inclined, leave me a few words.__

_Chapter 78._

_As I expected, Ellie and her son sat quietly in the corner watching Chase and Thirteen, who were reexamining some of the genetic analysis results they'd collected._

_"Is there a problem?" I asked them._

_Thirteen shook her head. "No. Just confirming that the data correspond to what's on these chromosome maps."_

_"Good." I turned to the young mother. "Ellie, we need to talk."_

_Her eyes immediately showed concern. "Is something wrong? It's not Christopher, is it?" She held her little boy tighter in her arms._

_I shook my head. "It has nothing to do with the study or the kid."_

_"Ellie, we can watch him for a while." Chase reached for Christopher, who smiled at him. _

_I took Ellie out into the hall but didn't satisfy her curiosity until we were seated on one of the benches._

_"What is it?" she prompted, her voice still filled with worry._

_"How long did you work at Boomers?"_

_"Boomers?" She relaxed a little. "Three years or so, I guess."_

_"Were you ever there when the produce arrived?"_

_"You mean the vegetables and fruit?"_

_I nodded, but didn't say anything while she thought about it._

_"A few times."_

_"Ever notice the name of the companies sending the stuff?"_

_"Not really, well, except for the fact that sometimes I saw the name Giordano on the boxes of melons. That kind of surprised me." Her eyes were still narrowed in thought._

_I smiled. "I thought so. Is it common knowledge that your father-in-law owns Boomers?"_

_"My father-in-law? Oh you mean Petey's father. Everyone in Dorsey knows, of course, but I'm not sure it's common knowledge."_

_"No. It wouldn't be. So, Johnny Giordano, the owner of the produce company, probably didn't know that he was selling to his brother. But he had to know that Peter was the big cheese in Dorsey. I guess it didn't matter to him."_

_"I never heard of Johnny Giordano."_

_"What about Giovanni Giordano?" _

_She nodded. "Petey mentioned an uncle with that name a couple of times."_

_"He and Peter are on the outs, but it seems there are connections that Peter knows about but Johnny doesn't."_

_"So?"_

_"So, we're trying to find a way to use that to our advantage."_

_The puzzled look was back on her face._

_"Nina is thinking of setting up a catering service, or maybe work with a restaurant to do parties and things." OK, so we hadn't even broached the idea to her yet, but Ellie didn't have to know that._

_"Oh! I wonder if she'll need a waitress."_

_"Yes, I'm sure she will. In fact, Jess said she'd suggest that Nina hire you."_

_She smiled. "I'd love to work for her! And if it's on parties, I could still get a job at a daycare center during the day."_

_Jess' voice cut in. "There you are! You'll never guess what I discovered." Her eyes blazed with excitement._

_"The moon isn't made of green cheese?"_

_Ellie's eyes narrowed but Jess just rolled hers. "No. I mean, of course, but that's not what I meant. My father's holdings in Uncle Giovanni's companies is lots bigger than we thought."_

_I wasn't surprised that Peter Sr. had more of an interest in his brother's businesses, but it had to be huge to make Jess so excited. "Cough up."_

_"Well, besides the three percent of the produce company in his own name, each of his businesses in Dorsey holds two or three percent for a total of about fourteen percent."_

_I nodded._

_"And that's just the produce company. He's got a finger in the restaurant, too. Our trust funds from my mother are invested, and so is something called Mia Famiglia, which I know is a holding company of Dad's."_

_"Why would your father invest in his brother's companies if the two of them are on the outs?" Ellie asked._

_Jess eyes smiled and she nodded. "Why indeed."_

_"He wants to build up to a controlling interest," I guessed. _

_"Yes, that's obvious. But why? Is he planning revenge?" Jess scratched her ear. "That would be just like him." She shook her head. "I can't think of any other reason."_

_"Perhaps he wants to show his brother that he's as big a success." _

_"Perhaps."_

_–_

_Armed with all the info we'd gathered, Jess and I set out that evening to meet Nina at Mario's. We arrived moments before she did. _

_While the sisters greeted each other, I approached the podium."We have a reservation for three in the name of House."_

_The hostess, clad in a long black form-fitting dress looked at her list, took out three leather-bound menus and said, "Right this way."_

_We were seated at a candlelit table for four. Nina looked around the place, then saw that we were staring at her. "You both look like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary."_

_"Nina, would it surprise you to hear that this restaurant buys its produce from your uncle?" I asked._

_"Uncle Giovanni?"_

_"You have another one?"_

_"Well, yes, but not in the U. S." She looked from me to Jess and back again. "Why would you even know that?"_

_Jess and I took turns telling her everything we'd learned that day, interrupted only when a waiter came by for our drink orders. Nina was so engrossed in what we were saying, she didn't even notice that he was at least as handsome as Niko._

_I watched the expressions on her face change from incredulity to confusion and back again several __times. "But what does that have to do with me?"_

_Jess looked at me before replying. "Initially we were going to suggest that, rather than starting a catering company from scratch, you work with a restaurant or two to arrange parties on their premises and do home catering for them. But now we're wondering how we can best use the intel we dug up."_

_So she was placing the ball in Nina's court. I suppose that was only fair. It was Nina's future, after all._

_"I like the idea," she said slowly. "I mean of working with a restaurant, but do either of you think that getting in the middle of whatever is happening between Father and Uncle Giovanni can possibly have a positive outcome?"_

_I realized that I was hoping she'd do just that so we could find out more about whatever Daddy Dearest was up to. But I couldn't force her, so I didn't say anything, leaving it to Jess to make a case._

_Jess pursed her lips, then began. "The more we know about that, the more ammunition we would have against Father if he attempts to block your access to your trust funds."_

_Nina shook her head. "I've been thinking about that. He really has no right to keep us from getting what's rightfully ours. I'm sure we have legal rights here."_

_I scowled. "I wouldn't count on that."_

_"Nina, he's already cut me off." Jess stared at her intensely._

_Nina's shoulders slumped. "How can he do that? Didn't you fight him on it?"_

_"He's the executor of Mother's estate."_

_"But how can we use the knowledge about his holdings in the companies?"_

_"We can threaten to tell Uncle Giovanni if he doesn't release our funds."_

_Nina nodded slowly. "OK. Say we do that. What more can I learn if I begin to work with any of the restaurants connected to the Giordano companies?"_

_That was a good question. It was time for me to chime in. "If you approach one of the restaurants owned by your uncle, you should be able to learn more about his operations and what else he's planning."_

_She shook her head. "He probably wouldn't speak to me, as Peter Giordano's daughter."_

_"It's a big organization. In the beginning, you might never have to talk to him. I'm sure the restaurant manager can make some operating decisions without consulting him."_

_Jess took over again. "Nina, why don't we have lunch there tomorrow, just you and I, so we can see the best approach to take."_

_Nina still hesitated, but eventually she nodded. "OK. What can it hurt to have lunch there?"_

_We let the subject drop as the waiter returned with our drinks and we ordered our meals. None of us could know then what this would lead to._


	79. Chapter 79

__We're about to learn what Jess and Nina found out at their uncle's restaurant and what they're going to do about it.__

__I'd love to hear you thoughts.__

_Chapter 79._

_I wished I could be a fly on the wall when Jess and Nina had lunch at their uncle's restaurant, Trevi, on the outskirts of Trenton. I had to be content knowing that Jess would tell me all the gory details, but it wasn't easy to wait for her to return to the hospital after that lunch._

_It was two o'clock when she finally showed up. By then I'd resorted to rearranging the books on my shelves so that they formed equal-width stripes of black, red, blue and brown. _

_Jess sneered when she saw what I was doing, but didn't say anything about it. "Are you ready for my verbatim report?"_

_I dropped the book I was shelving and made myself comfortable in my desk chair. "Bring it on."_

_She nodded slightly. "The restaurant is gorgeous, well, maybe a tad overdone. All maroon and gold with marble statuettes in niches along the papered walls and a fountain at one end. The tables are hardwood and the chairs, too, except they're upholstered in a maroon brocade material. They're actually very comfortable. Nina and I were seated at a small table, covered with a snow white cloth and set with heavy cutlery and crystal glassware. There are tables of all sizes to accommodate various size groups of people."_

_"Enough with the travelog. Cut to the chase." _

_"I'm getting there." She grinned at me. "Just wanted to draw out the anticipation. OK, so our waitress took our order, but Nina and I began to ask about the menu and whether they did catering. 'The manager's been pushing to do that for ages,' she said. We left it at that until she brought our meals. I had the ravioli, by the way. Very good. Filled with meat and cheese and smothered in marinara. You'd love it."_

_I rolled my eyes. Besides prolonging my agony, she was making me hungry. And I'd already had lunch._

_"So we asked Sandra..."_

_"Wait, who's Sandra?"_

_"The waitress. Aren't you keeping up? I can go slower."_

_"No, no. Go on."_

_"Right. We asked Sandra whether the manager was there and he was. 'Did you want to talk to him,' she asked. That's when Nina told her she was starting a catering service and she'd love to work with a __restaurant as good as Trevi."_

_I nodded. So far so good._

_"The manager came over within minutes. His name's Paolo Constantino, and he was born in Genoa. Been in the States for ten years."_

_"I don't care if he was born in the Vatican."_

_Jess laughed. "So Nina made her pitch and Paolo seemed very interested. In fact, he came up with a few twists we hadn't thought of. And then he asked her name."_

_I closed my eyes. I could imagine what was coming. "His attitude changed when she said her name was Giordano."_

_"Well, yes. But not the way you think. It increased his interest in her. Seems Uncle Johnny might still hold a grudge against Father, but he's always wanted to meet us. In fact one of the things he was angry about was that we were kept from him."_

_"That doesn't sound right. Why should he be so interested in the children of a brother he despises?"_

_"He never had any children of his own." She left it there. It did explain a lot. _

_"How did he know your father had kids?"_

_"He's in contact with the sister back in Italy, the one we tried to visit. She wrote to him after we were there and he made one attempt to see us soon after, but was rebuffed by my father. Later, all he could find out was that we were all in Dorsey, working in one way or another for him, so he gave up."_

_"And now he's chomping at the bit to meet you all."_

_She nodded. "Greg, he's lonely and he's getting old."_

_"How old can he be? What's your dad? Sixty, sixty-five? And Giovanni is younger, right?"_

_"He can help us fight our father."_

_"Is that what you want?"_

_She sighed and nodded slowly. "He hasn't been the worst father, but his determination to control us have escalated over the years. And whatever he's attempting to do now with Uncle Giovanni's companies is underhanded."_

_"Don't you think that anything your uncle does to alienate you further from your father is underhanded, too?"_

_"It's what Father deserves."_

_"Now you're sounding like a petulant child."_

_She hesitated but had to say it. "You've told me about some of the things your father did to you. Wouldn't you have liked a chance to get back at him for it?"_

_"But there's no way I can do that now."_

_She crossed her arms in front of her. "Well, I'm not going to wait until he dies. Nina and I have the opportunity to make him even more miserable than he already is, and we're going to take it." She stared into my eyes. "I thought you were with us on this."_

_I didn't owe anything to Peter Giordano Sr. Jess had brought me more happiness than I'd ever thought I deserved or would find, so of course I'd support her in anything she wanted to do. "As long as you're sure this is the path you want to take."_

_She nodded. "I'm sure and so is Nina."_

_"What about Petey?"_

_Her shoulders raised in a shrug. "We haven't talked to him about it. But he's the one who Father hurt first and the most. I think he'll be on board."_

_"And what if your uncle turns out to be as much of a tyrant as your father? After all, he was the one who came to this country with a grudge against him."_

_She shook her head. "The staff we talked to at the restaurant all said Uncle Giovanni was the best boss they ever had. Nina and I are going to try to meet him later this week. Wanna come along?"_

_"The apocalypse wouldn't keep me away."_

_She grinned and put her arm through mine. "I kinda thought you'd say that." She followed up with a kiss on my cheek. "Maybe I should try to find Petey." She let go and stepped back._

_"That should be interesting."_

_"Don't smirk. I think the three Giordano kids should stick together on this, display a united front when we approach our uncle."_

_"Go forth and do your thing," I said, pointing my cane at the door._

_Jess saluted, smirking herself. "Aye, aye, my capitan! I'll let you know what happens in any case." _

_I was beginning to think I'd created a monster. Next thing you knew, she'd try to take over the entire town of Dorsey. Where this game would go was still a question. I was just glad I'd be around to see the results._

_I wondered whether anyone had a family that got along all the time, where there was no infighting or antagonism. I don't think I ever knew one like that. But the Giordanos were right up there with the strangest, and the most vengeful. Vendettas seemed to be a way of life with them. I'd have to remember to stay on Jess' good side._

_I picked up the book I'd dropped when she came in, and placed it on the shelf, then sat back at my desk. Jess came flying back in._

_"Greg, Petey's gone!"_

_"What do you mean, gone?"_

_"No one's seen him all day. He was supposed to have an interview today for a job as an orderly but he never showed up." Her voice was an octave lower, the way it got when she was particularly anxious._

_"Did you call the place he's been staying? Tried his cellphone?"_

_"Of course." She leaned her hands on my desk. "What should we do?"_

_I shrugged. Petey had gone missing before. "Maybe he decided he'd had enough of New Jersey and went back to Florida."_

_She shook her head vigorously. "I don't think so. He was looking forward to the job and to be being here with me and Nina. Besides, he was doing well with his treatment and wanted to continue it."_

_"Have you spoken to your sister? Maybe she knows where he went."_

_"I just called her. She hasn't heard from him since yesterday. Greg, I'm worried. What could have happened to him?"_

_I shook my head. Here we go again, I thought. _


	80. Chapter 80

__So I left you and my characters wondering where Petey went to this time. Once he puts his mind to it, House will come up with the answer and he won't keep it from Jess or you.__

__I love to hear from my readers even if it's just a few words.__

_**Chapter 80.**_

_There was no sign of Petey anywhere. No one had heard from him. _

_Jess stopped pacing the floor of my office for a few seconds to ask, "Do you think we should go back to Florida and look for him there again?" _

_"I doubt he'd go back." I might have been the only unconcerned one. _

_Nina was calling everyone she knew who knew Petey, too, everyone that is except her father. Ellie had enlisted Chase's help in the search and they'd gone to the motel to find out whether he'd checked out and if not, whether his things were still in his room._

_Jess paced some more. The next time she stopped, she placed her palms on the edge of my desk. "How can you be so calm? My brother is missing."_

_"Again. He has a habit of bailing. Why should it surprise you?"_

_She glared at me, then turned and resumed walking to the door and back._

_"You're wearing a rut in my floor. Jess, you can't do anything about Petey. Why don't you use that energy to plan what you and Nina will do when you meet your uncle?"_

_But I couldn't get her to refocus. "How can I even think about that when Petey's missing?"_

_I sighed. If she wouldn't, couldn't think about anything else, I'd have to toss in my two cents. "Did you ever consider the possibility that he went home to Papa?"_

_She shook her head vigorously. "He'd never do that! I think he hates Father, not just for how he was treated, but because, deep down, he feels he's a disappointment to us all. Father is everything he won't ever be."_

_"Maybe. Did he know you and Nina were going to approach your uncle?"_

_That gave her pause. "One of us may have mentioned it to him."_

_"Could he have jumped the gun, as it were? Made his own play for Uncle Johnny's help?"_

_She smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Of course. That's just the sort of lame-brained thing my brother would do."_

_"Why is it lame-brained if he does it, but a smart move if you and Nina do?"_

_"Why, because..." She looked down, then up again and nodded. "You're right. It isn't so dumb. But what would he have to offer?"_

_"You said your uncle wanted to meet his brother's kids. Petey's one of them, the only male, the one with the same name as your father."_

_Her eyes popped open. She nodded again, slowly. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're brilliant?" She leaned across the desk to kiss me quickly, then turned and started for the door._

_"Where are you going?"_

_"To call..." She stopped and her shoulders slumped. "I guess I can't really call my uncle, can I?" _

_"Why not?"_

_"Because I haven't met him yet. He doesn't know me."_

_"If that's where Petey is, he hadn't met him before, either."_

_She held her hand over her mouth and breathed through her fingers. Dropping her hand to her side, she said, "You're right. Again." And with that she left, presumably to make the call._

_The more I thought about it, the more I believed I was right. I expected Jess to return before long and confirm my guess. But a half hour went by, then an hour, and I hadn't seen her._

_Chase and Ellie appeared in my doorway instead. "Where's Jess?" she asked._

_"What did you find at the motel?" I countered._

_Chase shook his head. "No one's seen him today. The manager checked for us and found that all of his clothes were still there."_

_"Did Jess or Nina find out anything?" Ellie's face was pinched with anxiety._

_"Jess is checking with her uncle. We think Petey may have gone to see him."_

_Ellie moved closer. "Her uncle? You mean the one that Nina was going to approach, Uncle Giovanni?"_

_"Yeah. Petey knew what Nina was planning, or at least some of it." I shrugged. "Maybe he decided to try for his own deal."_

_I sighed when I caught sight of Jess approaching. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'd been worried about where she might be. I jutted my chin in her direction. "Maybe she has some news."_

_Chase and Ellie turned around._

_Jess hurried toward us, nodding. "Bingo. Uncle Giovanni says Petey's with him now. He was happy to hear from me and hadn't been told yet about the appointment tomorrow with Nina and me. He sounded so nice."_

_"Did he say anything about what Petey wanted from him?" I asked._

_"Petey was asking for a job. Seems he'd rather work for our uncle than here at the hospital." She laughed lightly. "We were looking for him to see whether he'd want to work with Nina after she arranges to do catering for him, but I guess he couldn't wait."_

_"So now what?" Ellie studied Jess._

_"Nina and I meet with our uncle tomorrow and we go from there." She reached out a hand for Ellie's arm. "She still wants you to work with her."_

_Ellie smiled, then looked at Chase._

_He nodded. "It's a good idea." _

_"You're all acting like Uncle Giovanni is the savior. Maybe you should start a new religion, worshiping Johnny Giordano."_

_Jess frowned at me. "No need to get sarcastic. I'm sure it won't be smooth sailing, but at least he's embracing us as family. Let us keep our rose-colored glasses a little longer."_

_I tilted my head to acknowledge her request, but I still had misgivings and vowed to be there, at least for Jess, when all of this came apart. I looked over Jess' shoulder. "Come join the party."_

_Nina looked puzzled as she stepped through the doorway, but Jess rushed to reassure her. "Petey's with Uncle Giovanni."_

_Nina's body relaxed. "What's he doing there? And how will that affect what I'm trying to do?"_

_Her sister explained what had happened and that their meeting with their uncle was still on._

_Nina nodded, but she wasn't smiling. "This is all happening so quickly."_

_"Don't get cold feet now, Nina." Jess put a hand on her arm._

_"No, no. Of course not. I want this too much. Ellie, you're in this with us, aren't you?"_

_"Absolutely. I've had my own problems with your father and anything that will make him squirm is fine with me. Why, he wouldn't even acknowledge his own grandson!"_

_"Speaking of whom, where is Christopher?" Jess asked._

_"Remy's minding him."_

_"You left that impressionable baby with Thirteen?" I asked Chase, rather than Ellie._

_"Relax. Taub's there too. He's had lots of experience with kids Christopher's age." _

_But Nina's eyes narrowed. "What are you implying about Remy? Why shouldn't she be trusted with my nephew?"_

_"Nothing, really," Chase replied. "She has her peculiarities but nothing that would affect her ability to watch a little boy for a short time."_

_"What peculiarities?"_

_Chase and I exchanged a look. I knew he wanted me to explain Thirteen's proclivities, but I'd been hoping Nina would realize them for herself. "Haven't you noticed her interest in you? As intense as Wilson's?"_

_"She's a lesbian?" Nina didn't look as shocked as she sounded._

_"Actually, she's bi." Chase decided to join in, now that the cat was out of the bag._

_"She is?" Ellie looked much more shocked than Nina. "And you let me leave Christopher with her?"_

_"It's not like she has cooties or something," Jess said. "Her sexual persuasion, or rather ambivalence won't keep her from taking care of him, just as it doesn't prevent her from giving any patients the best care possible."_

_"How did we end up talking about Thirteen?" I asked._

_Jess shook her head. "You started it with your response when you heard that Chris was with her. What we should be doing is deciding what we'll say to our uncle now that we have his attention."_

_Nina nodded. "I've been putting together a business proposal. I'd like you to look at it from a financial viewpoint when you have the time."_

_Jess shrugged. "I can do it right now." She looked at me. "Unless my boss has something else for me to do."_

_"Your time is your own. Just use it wisely. Ellie, you should go collect your son. And Chase, don't you have clinic hours to do or something? If not, you can do mine."_

_Soon my office was empty again. I needed time to think through what was happening with Jess and her siblings. I hoped their uncle would help them get the revenge they wanted against their father, or at least provide a way to ensure he couldn't hurt any of them any more. I doubted he'd ever been physically abusive. Jess never mentioned it. But the kind of domineering control they'd lived under all their lives wasn't good for anyone._

_I'd been the one to suggest Nina's catering business and now I was eager to see it happen, whatever the __other consequences. As I thought about what the possibilities were, my phone rang. The caller ID surprised me. What did Peter Giordano Sr. want with me?_


	81. Chapter 81

__So you wanted to know what Senior wanted. Well, read and find out.__

__I love to hear from my readers even if it's just a few words.__

_**Chapter 81.**_

_It didn't take long for me to find out what Daddy Dearest wanted. He came straight to the point. "What did you tell my daughter to poison her mind against me?"_

_"Jess? I didn't have to do a thing. You did it all yourself."_

_"I meant Nina. She went to Princeton to convince Jess to return to Dorsey where she belongs, but now, I understand, Nina has decided to stay there, too."_

_I smirked. "The same motivation goes for Nina as for Jess. They're both tired of having you pull their strings, of being obliged to cater to a man who doesn't appreciate what he has in them."_

_"Why, you interfering fool!" The vehemence was loud and clear across the wire. "Before you came to my town, they were both quite content with their lives."_

_"Were they?" I knew that wasn't the case. It hadn't taken much for them to want to leave. I couldn't give away their plans, but I felt the urge to put this blustering tyrant in his place. "When was the last time you took a good look at your daughters? They're both adults, with minds of their own, intelligent and skillful, and I won't be surprised to find that they'll be very successful without their father holding them back."_

_"I never held them back! You think you know them so well. I was the one who watched them grow up. Nina can't manage her way out of a paper bag, and Jess buries her head in numbers and statistics so that she doesn't have to think about anything else or have any other life."_

_"When did you talk to them last? Really talked to them?"_

_"Are you saying they've changed?" Giordano laughed, but it was a mirthless sound. "It'll never happen. My daughters are intelligent, I'll grant you that. Petey may be too, when it comes to it. But none of them have any drive, there isn't a fire in their bellies."_

_"And there is in yours?" I was beginning to understand the man better than I had before and wanted to keep him talking._

_"I had to make my own way when I came to this country. I had no help from my family so I swore I'd help my children as much as I could. And this is how they treat me in return? Moving away, cutting me off. Why they won't even speak to me."_

_"Aren't you the one who cut them off? At least from their trust funds. You had no right to do that, you know."_

_"I had every right." He was so adamant. "And who told you about that?"_

_He couldn't see my shrug. "It's public knowledge."_

_"Jess told you, I suppose. I knew you'd poisoned her mind against me, but I didn't realize how close you'd become."_

_So he didn't know she was living with me. Why was I not surprised? "That just speaks to how little you know what's happening in your daughter's life. Did it ever occur to you to call her? To come to Princeton yourself and see how she's living here?"_

_"That's what you think! I don't have to be there to imagine how they're struggling." He sounded pleased that they might be having a hard time._

_"Jess isn't struggling, believe me." I had to ask, "Why did you send Nina to talk to her?"_

_"Huh? I sent her to talk ___sense___ into her, not to join her, and then Nina, too, betrayed me."_

_"She's seen what you never will, that Jess can make it on her own, and so can Nina."_

_"Oh, don't be surprised when they both fail, and then come running back to me."_

_"And don't be surprised when they beat you at your own game." He didn't know what was in store for him. As many misgivings as I had about how involved they should become with their uncle, that was the best chance they had for succeeding and showing their father they didn't need him._

_"This conversation is over, Doctor. Goodbye."_

_"Buona fortuna," I said. He was going to need it._

_By the time Jess returned from looking at her sister's business plan I was more eager than ever to help them make this work. Everything their father said to me irritated the heck out of me, but especially his lack of faith in their abilities._

_"You look so serious. Is something wrong?" She pulled up a chair to sit across the desk from me._

_"Had an interesting talk with your father."_

_She frowned. Obviously it wasn't what she expected. "You called him?"_

_I shook my head. "I'm still not sure why, but he called me. It was the strangest conversation I've had in a long time."_

_"Dare I ask?"_

_I sighed and compressed my lips. "He hasn't a clue. Not about any of you. I hope you and Nina can pull this off because he needs a wake-up call."_

_"I think we'll succeed." She grinned. "Nina has more of a head on her shoulders than even I thought. Her plan is sound, very cost-effective. She's not trying to start too big, but she's not tentative either. I'm feeling very good about our chances."_

_"And Uncle Johnny? Where does he fit in?"_

_"He's just one of the people we'll have to deal with. If there are any problems with any of the restaurants, we won't have relied too heavily on it and we'll have others to fall back on."_

_"Sounds like you've thought this through." I was glad that they weren't depending only on their uncle. It was a smart move. I'd come to expect that of Jess, but my estimation of Nina was growing, too. "Has your sister talked to any of the other restaurant owners yet?"_

_"She's setting up appointments now. Oh, Greg, I'm getting so excited about this!" She didn't have to tell me, I could see it in her eyes and smile._

_"Guess this will be keeping the two of you busy for the next few days." _

_She stood and walked around the desk to me. Putting her arms around my neck, she kissed my forehead and then my lips. "I'll make sure you're not neglected." She always knew just the right thing to say._

_"You'd better." I tried to sound stern, but I was smiling._

_"And maybe you can help."_

_"Moi?" Much as I was willing, I didn't know what I could do to help the cause._

_"You know the restaurants in the area better than we do. Maybe you can make some suggestions." Her hands rested on my shoulders._

_I nodded, my smile widening into a full-blown grin. "Especially if we can get a few good dinners out of this. Sure, I'd be happy to suggest some. You should check with Wilson, too."_

_"You're being very helpful already." She stroked my cheek._

_"Blame it on my irritation with your father."_

_"Yeah. I can believe that."_

_"Why don't we start checking out some place this evening?" I suggested._

_She nodded. "I'll ask Nina which ones she's most interested in. Why don't we invite her to join us? I know you're reluctant to spend so much time with her, but remember, this is ___her___ business we're trying to get off the ground."_

_"Maybe we'll bring Wilson along, too."_

_Jess' eyebrows shot up. "Like a double date?"_

_I shrugged. "Why not? Although we don't have to tell ___them___ that."_

_She smirked and shook her head. "There you go, playing with people's heads again." She pecked at my cheek. "And you're just so good at it!" She started for the door. "I'll let you know what she says."_

_I nodded and then watched her go. Soon after, I saw Wilson go by and enter his office. I went out to my balcony and hefted myself over the dividing wall, knocking on his door before opening it. He was alone, as I thought he'd be._

_"Busy tonight?"_

_"Why, did Jess leave you already?"_

_"Oh ye of little faith. Of course not! Just thought you might want to have dinner with the Giordano sisters."_

_"Nina's going to be there too?" His face brightened at the prospect._

_"Yeah." I decided not to clue him in on what Jess and Nina were up to so I could watch the expressions on his face as they talked about it over dinner. "Jess is going to let me know where, but prepare yourself for an unforgettable night."_

_"Knowing you, I don't know whether that's a threat or a promise."_

_I just grinned at him and left. _


	82. Chapter 82

__In doing a search on fortune cookie sayings for this chapter, I came across the following site. It's good for a few good laughs. And of the course, I hope you enjoy the chapter too.__

_ smosh-pit/photos/41-freakin-funny-fortune-cookie-fortunes_

_**Chapter 82.**_

_Nina picked The Blue Mandarin. It's a classy Chinese restaurant in the downtown area, known for its dim sum and Szechuan cuisine, but they also serve sushi and a few Japanese and Thai dishes. She was able to get a reservation for seven o'clock that evening._

_I'm used to eating my Chinese food with chopsticks from little white boxes and wondered if it would taste any different off porcelain plates._

_We met in the parking lot at the side of the building and walked to the door together. On the outside the only clue that this was an oriental restaurant was the intricately-carved door and the blue sign. The hostess desk was manned (or is that ladied) by a tall slim woman with black hair cut in an asymmetric bob, slanted dark eyes and red lips in an ivory face, and a red brocade dress with a slit up the side._

_Nina took the lead. "We have a reservation for four. The name is Giordano."_

_"Of course. This way please." She seated us at a booth along one side of the large room and handed us leather-bound menus and a wine list. The menu was extensive, and included several dishes I liked._

_"Should we each get something different so we can taste a few things?" Nina asked._

_"Of course. We always share." Jess smiled at me._

_She was right. Wilson and I always did when we ordered Chinese food from our favorite take-out places, and Jess and I had done that too, but the three of us had similar likes. I wondered what Nina might order._

_"Have you ever had Mongolian beef?" Wilson asked Nina. He was on a perpetual search for the perfect preparation of the dish._

_"No, I don't think so. I'll probably order pepper steak." She was still reading the long menu._

_Just as I feared, she only knew the tried and true, the most boring of traditional Chinese restaurant cuisine. At least she didn't order chow mein but I was certain she'd order egg-drop soup to start._

_"Jess? What'll it be tonight?" I was leaning towards the coffee chicken unless she ordered it._

_"I think I'll go with the Bangkok prawns. I hope they use red curry. Oh, and for starters either the lettuce wraps or the Szechuan calamari."_

_Nina was starting to look green. "When did you start eating things like that, Jess?"_

_"You haven't lived 'til you tried curried prawns. C'mon, Nina. Be a little adventurous. What's the worst that can happen?"_

_"I'll taste all of your food, but I think I'll stick with what I know. If we're going to come up with a catering menu, it'll have to include things most people are familiar with."_

_"I think you'll find the people in this town have very sophisticated taste in food," Wilson said. "They're into trying new things."_

_"But there's nothing wrong in having both. And the three of you can give me your opinion on these other dishes since I expect you've eaten versions of them before."_

_She had a point. A waiter came to take our orders. Nina surprised me by ordering hot and sour soup. We also ordered a selection of appetizers including the two Jess mentioned, and some hot tea and Kirin beer._

_The waiter drifted off. Sitting back on the red leather banquette, Nina started the conversation going. "Jess tells me that Father called you today. What did he want?"_

_"He wants you both to come home and stop your silly nonsense of making a life without him."_

_She smiled at me. "I bet you told him where to go."_

_I shrugged. "Mostly I told him that he had no idea what the two of you were capable of doing on your own. No specifics, of course. And I didn't mention his brother."_

_"His brother?" _

_I knew Wilson wasn't totally aware of what Jess and Nina were doing, but Nina seemed surprised that he didn't know about Uncle Johnny. "One of the restaurants we'd like to work with is owned by our uncle," she said._

_"And I gather from your expressions that there's no love lost between him and your father." Good old Wilson. He caught on fast._

_"They don't speak," Jess said._

_Wilson chuckled. "I'm sure House is encouraging you to fan the flames."_

_"He doesn't have to, but after he talked to Father today, he's more eager than ever to help us." Jess placed her hand over mine and smiled at me._

_Our appetizers arrived, artfully arranged on decorative plates. I hoped they were as good as they looked._

_"Try the calamari," Jess urged her sister. _

_Nina hesitated, but finally took some on her plate. She coughed after her first bite. "Whew! That's spicy!" Then she smiled. "But very tasty and not rubbery at all." Still, she grabbed her glass of ice water and downed the whole thing before moving on to the potstickers._

_Wilson chewed and swallowed a bit of lettuce wrap. He nodded. "At least as good as Fu Ming's." That was his gold standard. "The lettuce is very fresh and crisp and the meat mixture has just the right amount of ginger."_

_Meanwhile, I'd eaten one of each thing we'd ordered. and was ready for a second._

_"So when do you meet with the head honcho here?" Jess asked her sister._

_"I have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, after our lunch with Uncle Giovanni." She reached for a spring roll. "So far I've been favorably impressed with the food, and it looks like the rest of you are enjoying it."_

_We enjoyed it all so much that there wasn't so much as a crumb left on any of the plates when the waiter came to clear the table. "I'll bring your soups." He was a slim young Chinese with a soft voice._

_We'd all ordered the hot and sour soup and he brought it in a large tureen, then ladled a portion into small bowls for each of us. The sour aroma reached my nose before I took my first spoonful. It had the right amount of 'heat' to clear my sinuses. I looked at Nina's face to see whether she approved, since I already knew Jess and Wilson would._

_"Wow!" she said. "How can they balance the flavor and the spiciness? Most places sacrifice one for the other, but this is perfect!"_

_I smiled. There was hope for her yet. If she could appreciate the soup, she'd do well in selecting courses for her catering business._

_As we made our way through our meal, I asked Wilson, "Remind me again why we've never come here before."_

_"Maybe it had something to do with the fact that you avoid change."_

_"Me?"_

_Jess was laughing. "I think we should just agree that we'll be back, whether or not Nina can convince the owners to work with her."_

_Wilson and Nina nodded like bobble-head dolls. But I wondered if this meant there'd be more double dinner dates in the future. For the next ten minutes I watched the two of them. Wilson smiled at everything Nina said, and she looked at him for approval more than once. _

_"This Mongolian Beef may be one of the best things I've ever eaten!" she raved. That was the entree he'd picked, of course. She seemed to enjoy everything else, too, but didn't bother to comment about __my selection or Jess'._

_We had coconut ice cream for dessert along with the traditional fortune cookies._

_"What does yours say, Nina?" Jess asked._

_"'Success is around the corner'." She smiled. "I certainly hope so!"_

_We all laughed. Then I cracked my cookie in two and read the strip of paper inside. 'Treasure your friends for they are the greatest treasure of all', I read. I tried not to smile but Jess reached over to take it. She grinned and passed hers to me. 'One step at a time leads to the top.' That was the most inscrutable. "You don't believe those things, do you?" I asked her._

_"We'll see. What does yours say, Wilson?"_

_"'Seize every second of your life and savor it'." He looked at Nina and smiled._

_She could do worse than my friend. Jess touched my hand and rolled her eyes at me, but I knew she wouldn't be unhappy if the two of them hooked up._

_"Well, this has been great." Nina broke eye contact with Wilson and folded her napkin. "We'll have to try some of the other places I'm considering."_

_"But not tonight," Jess said. She patted her stomach. "I'm stuffed."_

_Nina insisted on paying for the meal. "I'll get it next time," Wilson said._

_It looked like we'd be eating well for a while._


	83. Chapter 83

__Our fearsome foursome are not through eating. Tonight it's Italian.__

__Our relatives are arriving tonight and we'll be busy with them for the next week. We'll be taking them to the Balloon Fiesta and sightseeing. So I won't have much time for writing and probably none for posting until the middle of next week at the earliest. That doesn't absolve you from leaving comments – I'll be checking in periodically on my phone and tablet.__

__Enjoy.__

_**Chapter 83.**_

_I wished I were going with Jess and her sister when they met with their uncle. This was an even more crucial meeting than the one with the restaurant manager. So when Wilson knocked on my door at eleven thirty, I was open to his suggestion. "Why don't we see what the food is like at Uncle Giovanni's place?"_

_I didn't need to think about it, just grabbed my cane and stood. "I thought you'd never ask." After all, I never told Jess I'd stay away._

_We took Wilson's car and headed toward Trenton. The restaurant was this side of the city, about thirty minutes away without traffic. We arrived at twelve fifteen but had to wait for a table. It was a popular eatery. As we waited, my eyes scanned the place. Jess' description had been accurate. _

_I spotted them just before we were seated. Jess and Nina sat with an older man in a corner booth at the back of the restaurant. The man looked like a somewhat younger and much more sophisticated version of Peter Giordano. His thick silver gray hair was swept off his forehead in waves that framed his clean-shaven face._

_"What do you think you're going to have?" Wilson asked over his menu._

_"Huh?" I'd been too busy watching the threesome to even check it out. I opened the velour folder and my eyes were caught by the lasagne. That decision made, I looked back just in time to see Nina gesturing with her hands and Jess nodding and grinning. We placed our orders. _

_"It looks like everything's going well over there." Wilson's eyes begged me to agree._

_I looked at him and shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it if it isn't." And then I felt eyes on me. "Don't look now, but I think they're on to us," I whispered out the corner of my mouth._

_Of course, Wilson immediately looked at Jess and Nina. "Jess doesn't seem too happy."_

_"Ya think?" I turned my head and locked eyes with her. I could almost hear her snarl halfway across the restaurant. That's when her sister noticed her face and followed her glare to us. She frowned too. I debated walking over to them, but decided against it. _

_Wilson echoed my thought. "Do you think we should go over there?" _

_I shook my head. "We're here to observe and that's what we're going to do."_

_Our waiter brought our minestrone and we turned our attention to our meal. I hoped our presence wouldn't throw the girls off their game but decided there was nothing I could do about it. They would sell their business proposal to their uncle or they wouldn't._

_As I took my last spoonful of soup, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I slowly looked up into Jess' eyes. They were darker than usual, like a storm cloud had filled them. _

_"What do you think you're doing?"_

_"Having lunch." I pointed my spoon at my empty bowl. _

_She grimaced. "Besides that."_

_I shrugged. "Thought you might want some moral support."_

_"Nina and I can handle this ourselves." She didn't have to put her hands on her hips to convey her annoyance._

_I nodded. "We can see that. You're doin' great! Carry on."_

_Her eyes narrowed, she shook her head and wagged a finger at me. "This isn't over." She pivoted and walked back to the booth where Nina and their uncle were watching her._

_Wilson sniggered. "I think someone's in hot water."_

_"Nah. That was her 'I should have expected it' face, not her 'how dare you do this to me' one. As long as she and Nina strike a deal with their uncle, she'll forget about it."_

_"I hope so. She's been good for you."_

_"You should be the one who's worried that Nina won't be as forgiving."_

_Wilson frowned._

_"Were you so focused on me and Jess that you didn't consider what Nina thought?"_

_"No, but I never told her I'd stay away. I was hoping she'd be pleased that I'm so concerned." His face became thoughtful. "Do you really think she's angry?"_

_I shrugged. "I don't know Nina that well."_

_"So, maybe we shouldn't have come here after all." He looked glum._

_"You really like her, don't you?" I smirked._

_He nodded slowly. "You have to admit she's gorgeous."_

_"Is that it? I've never known you to fall for someone just because they were beautiful." I'd been impressed by her looks myself early on, but then decided she was shallow compared to her sister. Had I been wrong?_

_Our waiter brought our food and we ate it in silence. Wilson hadn't answered my question, but I wasn't surprised when he looked up periodically to glance over at Nina. Speculation filled his eyes, but was replaced by guilt when she came toward us. _

_"Jess says you don't intend to interfere. So why are you here?"_

_Wilson borrowed my line. "To eat lunch."_

_"How's it going over there?" I hadn't dared to ask Jess, but didn't have the same qualms with her sister._

_"Just as we thought, Uncle Johnny will do anything to annoy Father."_

_"Annoy? Hurt you mean."_

_She shrugged. "He deserves it." Her lips pursed in a straight line. "Well, enjoy your food. It's quite good, isn't it?"_

_"Yup." I filled my mouth with more lasagne._

_"Hmmm." She turned and marched back to her sister and uncle._

_"How long do you think it'll be?"_

_"Huh?" Wilson's fork paused halfway to his mouth._

_"Well, we've had visits from each of the Giordano sisters. Don't you think Uncle Johnny might be a tad curious about us?"_

_"Do you think he'll come over here?" He glanced at their booth, probably expecting that the man was already on his way._

_"I'm sure of it. I would like to finish my meal before he arrives, though."_

_Wilson's eyes narrowed. Then he went back to eating. _

_I had one or two bites left on my plate when a shadow appeared across our table and I looked up to see all three of them._

_Uncle Johnny took the lead. "Nina and Jessica tell me you're friends of theirs." His voice still held a trace of an accent. The tone was pleasant, even friendly._

_"That's right." I looked him in the eyes, dark eyes like all of the Giordanos. _

_Wilson stood. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Giordano. We've really enjoyed our meal here today." Wilson smiled and held out a hand._

_Giordano took it and smiled back. "My nieces say you're both doctors." It was the kind of statement that forced the addressee to respond._

_"I'm an oncologist at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, and House is a diagnostician."_

_"Actually, they each head their own departments." Was that pride in Jess' eyes? Maybe I was forgiven after all._

_"Have my nieces told you about their plans for a catering business? I guess they've got pretty good heads on their shoulders, besides being pretty."_

_It was our turn to show our pride in Jess and Nina. I let Wilson do that. He was certainly better at it than I ever hoped to be._

_He nodded. "We expect they'll be very successful."_

_"Have you known them long?" Giordano asked._

_I nodded. "Several months. I met them when I was looking for your nephew, his wife and their son." I knew when I set out on that quest that it could change my life, but I hadn't realized how much or in what way, but Giordano didn't have to know that._

_"And you found them. Tell me, what do you think of Petey?"_

_I hoped my opinion of their brother wouldn't hurt the sisters' chances, but I had to be honest. "He has to grow up, but his father hasn't helped and neither has his condition."_

_"His condition?" Giordano looked from me to Nina and Jess and back again._

_"Both Petey and his son suffer from a condition that affects their reaction to sounds. Once we diagnosed them and they started treatment, they've improved considerably."_

_"Hyperacusis?"_

_I don't think I looked as surprised as Wilson, Nina and Jess, but it was such a rare syndrome, it was startling that Giordano had ever heard of it. "Did he tell you about it?"_

_"No, of course not. But my youngest brother, Marco, has the same problem. They only recently diagnosed him."_

_"In Italy?"_

_He nodded. _

_"Greg, maybe you should talk to Uncle Marco's doctor. I mean for the study!" Jess had definitely forgiven me. "Uncle Johnny, Dr. House and his staff have been working on an effort to connect the disease to genetic causes."_

_Giordano raised one eyebrow. "So, it's genetic? That makes sense if several members of a family have the same thing. I'd be happy to give you what information I have about Marco's physician."_

_It was an unexpected bonus of the evening. I hoped everyone realized it wouldn't have come up if Wilson and I hadn't crashed the party._


	84. Chapter 84

__I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter done and posted. Hope you think it was worth the wait.__

__In case I hadn't mentioned it here before, I wanted to let you know I'll be having outpatient surgery on Thursday, so no promises on when the next chapter will appear. I've left you with a minor cliffy, I'm afraid. But speculation about what might happen next is fun, right?__

_**Chapter 84.**_

_As soon as we got home that evening, even before we reached the bedroom, Jess began to unbutton my shirt. "So, what did you think of my uncle?" _

_I tilted my head. "He's definitely not your father." My fingers ran through her dark hair. "I think you and Nina are making the right move working with him."_

_She nodded. "You know you really shouldn't have been there tonight." Her lips compressed into a line, then relaxed into a smile. "But some good did come out of it, so I guess it was OK."_

_"I guess I shouldn't have questioned your ability to judge your uncle without me, huh?I" My lips caressed her collarbone._

_I could feel her stiffen a little. "So, you're admitting you doubted me and Nina?" Her eyebrows were raised in a challenging way._

_"Maybe doubted is an exaggeration." My fingers massaged her breasts. "Let's just say I thought you might need a little backup."_

_"Right now what I need is something completely different." She made a good attempt at wiggling her eyebrows._

_"So, shut up and focus on that." I planted my mouth on hers. The time for words was over. _

_She pulled me toward the bedroom, a gleam in her eyes. By the time we made it to the bed, we were both devoid of any clothing. Making love with Jess is different every time. That keeps it exciting. This time we took it slow. I felt some urgency, but there was really no need to rush. We could savor every moment, every touch, every kiss. I've always enjoyed sex. What man doesn't? But this was somehow different. There was a connection between us, and every day it became deeper._

_ There was something joyful when we climaxed, a feeling that it just didn't get any better than this. I was sure she felt the same way, because the smile of satisfaction on her face was so blissful._

_"Nothing else matters, does it?" she purred in my ear._

_"I wouldn't go that far, but nothing else means as much."_

_She nodded. "Greg, even when you do things that irk me, I can never stay angry with you. You know that, don't you?"_

_I had begun to believe it, even though it was so foreign an idea. I'd spent my life irking people, and worse. By her words and actions, Jess was proving to be the exception._

_"Greg?" She lifted up on one elbow and stared into my eyes._

_I nodded. "Just don't expect me to change, OK?"_

_She smirked and rested her head and hand on my chest. "I won't. You are who you are and I wouldn't have you any other way."_

_"That sounds like a song lyric."_

_"So I can be as trite as anyone, but it's true."_

_I snickered. "As long as you aren't trite all the time." I cupped her chin and brought her lips to mine for a brief kiss. "It's been a long day, but as you say, we've accomplished a lot."_

_"And tomorrow will be even better." She smiled at me and kissed me again. "Night, Greg."_

_"Night."_

_We fell asleep quickly. For once I didn't wake up during the night. The next I knew, light was peaking through the drapes and I caught a whiff of freshly brewed coffee. The spot next to me in the bed was still slightly warm, but empty. Sighing, I rose slowly. After a stop at the bathroom, including a quick shower, I dressed and joined Jess in the kitchen._

_She was humming to herself as she scrambled eggs. I put my hands on her shoulders and kissed the back of her neck._

_"That will get you a double portion of bacon," she said, turning to smile at me._

_"You sound like you're in a good mood this morning."_

_"Is that an accusation?" she smirked. "I am. Things are going well, and I don't see any problems on the horizon."_

_"Cockeyed optimist." I took a cup of coffee and sat at the table, waiting for my breakfast._

_"That's just to balance out your perpetual pessimism." She placed a plate in front of me._

_Before I took my first bite I said, "Experience tells me that pessimism keeps me prepared for any eventuality."_

_"It also keeps you from enjoying the moment."_

_"Only some of the time." I waved a bacon rasher at her, then took a bite. "I have no problem enjoying this." I chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. "And I certainly enjoyed our workout last night." _

_Jess nodded. "Nobody ever accused you of disdaining your sensual pleasures." She took a plate of food and joined me at the table. "So, what's on your agenda for today?"_

_"Some followup on the info Uncle Johnny gave me about Uncle Marco. It could make an interesting addition to our results, but I'm not hoping for too much."_

_"No? I thought you were excited about the possibility that his case would confirm what the team concluded."_

_I tilted my head back and forth, knowing I couldn't count on that being the case. "We'll see. So, what are you and Nina up to today?"_

_"We have an appointment with another restaurant owner. I don't suppose I can get you to promise not to show up."_

_I hid my smile. "If you don't tell me which restaurant, it might be a bit more difficult. Besides, I was much more interested in Uncle Johnny than any of the others."_

_"Good."_

_I finished my breakfast and stood. "Let me know how it goes."_

_"You too. After all, Marco is my uncle, even though I never met him."_

_I nodded my assent, gave her a peck on the cheek, and headed for the door._

_–_

_Two hours later, my frustration had hit a peak. The phone numbers Johnny gave me weren't answering, and searches on Marco and his doctors came up empty. I'd have to ask Johnny whether he had any other contact information, but he wasn't in his office, either. _

_It didn't help when Thirteen invaded my office, demanding to know why Nina wasn't returning her calls._

_"Could it be she's just not that into you?"_

_She scowled. "We had plans to see a movie tonight. The least she could do was let me know she couldn't make it."_

_My eyebrows went up. Nina hadn't said anything to me about that, but then I wasn't exactly her first-choice confident. "She's been busy lining up restaurants to use for her new catering service. Kinda busy, you know."_

_Thirteen scowled again, turned and left. I went back to trying to get through to Italy. Even with the time difference, there should have been someone who wasn't off doing whatever Italians did in the early __evening. Did they all turn off their phones while they ate their pasta? Then again, they ate late in the Mediterranean countries of Europe. My best chance was Marco himself, but his phone went to voicemail every time I tried it. Frowning at my phone, I called Johnny. _

_"Dr. House? Has something happened?"_

_"No, no. I'm just having no luck getting through to your brother in Italy."_

_"How odd. He's never without his cellular phone. Let me try another number and I'll call you back." Johnny continued to be a pleasant surprise._

_"Thank you." I sat back and waited. Patience is not something I do well, but I had few other options._

_Ten minutes later my phone rang. I answered before my ringtone had finished its first play._

_"Dr. House?" It was one of the Giordanos, but not my new pal Johnny. "I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."_

_It was always a bad time when I got a call from Peter senior. "What is it this time?"_

_"I'm in the lobby of your hospital and hoped I might come up and see you."_

_This was worse than I thought. I could come up with an excuse, but I do curiosity much better than I do patience. "Come on up. I'm in my office."_


	85. Chapter 85

__I finally have the next chapter done for you. You'll soon find out what Poppa Giordano wants from House.__

__Can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter.__

_**Chapter 85.**_

_Giordano had aged since the last time I saw him. His gray hair was unkempt and his eyes red and bleary. He didn't look sick, exactly, but rather haggard, droopy._

_I didn't get up when he entered my office. "Have a seat." I waited until he'd dropped into the visitor's chair opposite me before asking. "So, to what do I owe this visit?"_

_"Dr. House, I don't like you and I don't like your methods." Even his voice had lost that commanding tone he'd had in the past. "I hate what you've done to my family. But I'm also aware that you'll give it to me straight. Do I have any chance of winning my children's loyalty back?"_

_I couldn't know how much he knew at this point, and I'd avoid giving anything away that might make things difficult for Jess. The truth was, I was convinced that she and her brother and sister would never feel the same way about their father as they had when they were younger. He wanted the unvarnished truth. "No."_

_He collapsed even more. Peter Giordano was a big man, but at that moment he looked small and weak. Maybe if I were more compassionate, I would have thrown him a bone, but he'd asked for my honest opinion and I gave it to him._

_"What do they want?" His tone was pleading._

_"For one thing, they want to be out from under your domineering control of their lives, to do what they want rather than what you had in mind for their lives."_

_"So, why didn't they come to me and tell me so?"_

_I tilted my head and looked him in the eyes. "Would you have listened?"_

_He couldn't maintain my stare, but looked down as if the answer was somewhere in the threads of my office carpet. When he finally looked up, a new resolve was set in his face. "How do I make up for the past?"_

_"You don't. You can't."_

_He shook his head. "The story of my life, I suppose. I alienated my family back in Italy, but there was nothing I could have done for them. They can't understand that. Did you know one of my brothers came to the states and refused to have anything to do with me?"_

_"That's not how I heard it."_

_"It's true. And now, I understand, he's even more successful than I am."_

_I hated to say it. "Have you tried to approach him lately?"_

_Giordano's eyes narrowed. "No. Do you think I should?"_

_Before I could answer my phone rang. Ah, the irony! Of course, I couldn't let on who it was, so I grabbed the phone before that annoying mechanical voice blurted 'call from Giordano, Giovanni'. "Hello. What'd you find out?" I asked guardedly._

_"Marco's been having some kind of treatment at the hospital, something called a pink noise generator? I think that's what it's called in English."_

_"Yeah, that's what we used on..." I stopped myself before I said 'Petey and Chris'. "...our patients here."_

_"Including my nephew and great-nephew?"_

_"Yes." I looked guardedly at his brother, who was listening to my side of the conversation but not very closely. If he only knew. "So that's why he wasn't answering his cellphone."_

_"Yes. I expect you'll be able to talk to him tomorrow. As I said, his English isn't very good."_

_"That's not a problem. I can speak...his language. Thanks. This could be a tremendous help with our study."_

_"Anything I can do for my nieces' friend. Ciao, for now, dottore."_

_"Good-bye." I closed the connection and turned back to Senior. "Sorry about that. We've been doing a study and that was about a patient outside the country who has the same problem." _

_Giordano nodded. "I suppose you're a busy doctor. I'm sorry to have taken so much of your time." He sighed. "I don't suppose you'd give my daughters a message from me." His eyes were pleading again._

_"Depends on what it is."_

_"Just tell them that I still love them and I...I wish I could talk to them, that is that they'll talk to me."_

_"I'll tell them, but I wouldn't be honest if I promised it'll make a difference."_

_He nodded again. "I'm beginning to understand that." He stood and held out his hand. "Thank you for your time." It took him a lot to say that, but that didn't mean I'd shake that hand._

_"If it's any consolation, Jess and Nina are going to do quite well without you. Petey, too, most likely. At least you won't have to worry that they're out on the street without a roof over their heads." No thanks to you, I added to myself. "And if there's one thing you can do for them, it's to let them have their trust funds."_

_His eyes opened wide. It might never have occurred to him. "OK. Tell them that, too." He let his hand drop to his side, then turned and left._

_Had I convinced him? I wouldn't know until he did something about it. Five minutes after he left, my phone rang. This time it was Jess. I told her about her father's visit. _

_"You didn't tell him we're going to be working with Uncle Johnny?"_

_"Not even when your uncle called."_

_"He called you? Why?"_

_"I'd been trying to reach Marco or his doctors but no one answered. Johnny found out that Marco was in the hospital for treatment."_

_"Like Petey and Chris had?"_

_"Yes. I was careful not to let your father know who I was talking to."_

_"Good."_

_"So how'd it go today?"_

_"We've lined up two other restaurants. I can't believe how well this is going. But you didn't say what Daddy wanted."_

_"He wanted to know how to get through to you."_

_"And you told him?"_

_"I told him that he can't. He said to tell you he loves you and wishes you'd talk to him."_

_"He would say that."_

_"I did make sure he knew you'd all appreciate it if he reinstated your trust funds."_

_She hesitated. "And he's considering it?"_

_"You do want him to, don't you? I did the right thing telling him that, right?"_

_"Yes, of course. Thank you, Greg."_

_"But I didn't think the trust funds were that crucial, especially because you're both about to become very successful."_

_"It's the principal of the thing. Nina and I don't need the money, although having Father think we do could be to our advantage. No, but winning one, getting him to give in without resorting to legal means is very satisfying."_

_"I believe I can hear you grinning."_

_"And you'd be right." She chuckled. "Well, it's been fun talking to you, but Nina and I have another appointment in downtown Princeton in about half an hour. See you tonight."_

_"Yeah." I didn't hear from Jess any more that afternoon. In fact, it was rather quiet after my morning. I arrived home at five thirty, grabbed a brew from the fridge, and settled down on the couch to wait for her. _

_When she hadn't arrived by seven thirty, I tried calling Nina. Unsuccessfully. I tried to remember if they had another appointment for dinner, but nothing came to mind. Jess hadn't written anything down on the calendar she'd hung inside the door of the pantry._

_Eight o'clock came and went, then eight thirty, but Jess didn't appear or call. I punched in Johnny's number. "Have you spoken to Jess or Nina tonight?"_

_"No. Why? Aren't they answering their phones, either?" A single chuckle wasn't encouraging. _

_I tried to laugh, too. I seemed to be relying on him to help me contact various members of his family. "I spoke to Jess this afternoon just before the two of them headed downtown for another appointment."_

_"How many restaurants are they lining up?"_

_"Last count, it had to be five or six." I tried to remember whether she'd even mentioned the names of the places they'd been to earlier in the day._

_He whistled. "I hadn't realized they were going so big."_

_"The sky's the limit."_

_"And that was the last you heard from Jess?"_

_"Yes." I didn't have to tell him what we talked about, or that his brother, Peter, came to call._

_"Who were they meeting today, she and Nina?" _

_"I honestly don't know." Jess rarely mentioned details about their plans, and I hadn't pressed her. I never did, but now I wished I had. "She and Nina only tell me what they think I need to know."_

_"Yes, I'm not surprised." Now his chuckle was genuine. "They're definitely Giordanos. And you were expecting to hear from her this evening?"_

_"Jess and I...we live together."_

_"Oh, I hadn't realized that, doctor. But I'm not surprised. My niece is a lovely woman, and very smart."_

_"And now she's missing, along with her sister." They weren't like Petey, who tended to run off at the first sign of trouble. Jess was usually where she was supposed to be. Except now she wasn't._


	86. Chapter 86

__The plot is thickening, like a rich and tasty stew. __

__Can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter.__

_Chapter 86._

_I pondered who might know where Jess and Nina were, if they were even together. Hadn't Thirteen said something about going to a movie with Nina? I called my token bisexual and she answered on the first ring, not a good sign._

_"Did you speak to Nina today?"_

_"Hello to you too, House. And, no, I told you I haven't spoken to her in days."_

_"Any ideas on what restaurants she and Jess were targeting?"_

_There was silence on the other end of the line. Finally, a tentative voice replied, "The only one I know about is the Mexican restaurant on Fourth."_

_"La Hacienda. OK. Thanks."_

_"House, what's this about?"_

_I hesitated. How much could I tell her. "Jess hasn't come home tonight."_

_"Maybe she finally saw the error of her ways and decided you weren't who she thought you were."_

_"Not likely. The two sisters were heading for a meeting this afternoon, and she said she'd be home as usual."_

_"Do you think something could have happened to them? Do you even know they're still together?" The pitch of her voice rose. Now I'd gotten her worried too._

_"They must have had another appointment I didn't know about."_

_"You don't believe that. Otherwise, you wouldn't have called me." She sighed. "Sorry I don't know anything more. Call me when you hear, OK?"_

_"Yeah, yeah," I said absentmindedly as I closed the connection._

_Thirteen wasn't Nina's only admirer. With renewed hope I called Wilson. Why hadn't I called him first? He'd know where Nina was, and Jess, too._

_"House, I'm glad you called. Have you or Jess heard from Nina tonight? She was supposed to come over for dinner and never showed."_

_"And you waited for me to call you?" _

_The pitch of his voice rose. "House, what's going on?" _

_"The sisters are missing." I finally admitted it to myself. "Jess never came home. I don't think they had a meet planned for tonight, and neither does anyone else."_

_"Anyone else being...?"_

_"Uncle Johnny and Thirteen."_

_He was silent._

_"Wilson?" I prompted._

_"I'm thinking."_

_"No, you're worrying. Thinking sounds different."_

_"You're worried too."_

_"Uh-uh. I leave that to you. What I am is..." But I couldn't come up with a word for what I was feeling. It was that unusual._

_"You're worried. And you should be. OK, let's try to think about this logically, systematically."_

_"I talked to Jess about two. She was headed for one more meeting with Nina and someone in downtown Princeton after a couple of successful meetings this morning."_

_"OK. Go ahead."_

_"That's it. That's all I have." And that was contributing to my feeling of helplessness._

_"Did she leave any record about who the earlier appointments were with?"_

_"No. I can surmise they weren't downtown. That's it."_

_"Anything unusual happen today?"_

_"What do you mean, like my girlfriend not coming home for dinner?" Sarcasm didn't make me feel better, but it was a knee-jerk reaction. "Papa Peter came to call."_

_"He was in Princeton?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, there's your answer. They're with him."_

_There was some kind of logic to what he was saying, and yet it didn't sound right. Granted Giordano had been eager to make amends with his daughters and then I burst his balloon. Had I driven him to abducting them? I couldn't really imagine it. Not without lots of help, help he didn't have in the Princeton area. "I'm not ruling that out, but it's not at the top of my list either."_

_"Than what is?"_

_"Ever hear of organized crime?"_

_"Now you're being melodramatic."_

_"You don't think the mob's involved in the restaurant and catering businesses in central New Jersey?"_

_"I'm sure it is, but what would they want with small potatoes like Nina and Jess?"_

_"Maybe they don't think our girls are such small potatoes. There's a euphemism in there somewhere, but I'm not going there right now."_

_"House, they're two young women, starting up a new company with few resources beyond their own abilities."_

_"Maybe they inadvertently stepped on the wrong toes. And we don't know what opponents any of their new associates might have. Uncle Johnny's a nice guy, but he didn't get where he is today without making enemies."_

_"You have a point."_

_"Of course I do!"_

_"So what do we do about it?"_

_"I've got Johnny worried now, too. Maybe he'll come up with something along these lines himself, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a nudge." Should I call him or see him in person, I wondered. "I think I need to do a face-to-face. Wanna come along?"_

_"You can't keep me away. But I'm driving. Be there in ten."_

_The longer I waited for Wilson, the more I thought that I was onto something. Whether or not Johnny was involved in any way in Jess and Nina's disappearance, he knew enough of the players to give us leads we wouldn't have otherwise. When Wilson arrived, I'd already decided what I would ask the girls' uncle. _

_We drove to his restaurant in record time. I'd never seen Wilson drive so fast. It was a testament to how worried he was about Nina._

_The place was as busy as it had been the last time we were there. We walked through the front door and __asked the hostess to let 'the boss' know we were there to see him. Johnny didn't take long to come get us himself._

_He took us to the booth he'd shared with the girls the last time we were there. "I've been thinking about this ever since I spoke to you earlier. I assume you've had no word from my nieces?"_

_"No, none."_

_"Mr. Giordano, pardon me for asking, but do you have any enemies? Anyone who might try to get to you through them?" Wilson had a good point, one I hadn't thought of._

_Johnny shrugged. "Every businessman has enemies. People who are rivals for business. And I have many companies, you understand?"_

_"Any mob connections?" There was no time for me to beat around the bushes._

_He chuckled. "You are quite blunt, Dr. House. Everyone thinks every Italian is somehow connected to organized crime, but of course, that's not true. I've managed to steer clear myself over the years. My...let's call them rivals...not all of them are so...unconnected, capisce?"_

_"Si. I understand."_

_"How do you protect yourself from them, if that's so?" Wilson asked. "How have you managed to, as you say, steer clear?"_

_Johnny's head went up and down. "That is a good question. It hasn't been easy." He sighed. "What do you know about the organization of the mob in central New Jersey?"_

_"More than you think." I remembered my last encounter with members of the mafia. It had been many years ago, and I'd lost contact. Could I call on them if necessary? I wasn't ready for that yet. "They have hands in many businesses in the state, including restaurants, construction, and gambling."_

_"Quite so. They don't just have hands, as you say, in those businesses, but control them. Still, they'll tolerate other...entrepreneurs, especially any who stay out of their territory. Why do you think I located this restaurant here? It's not in the city for a reason."_

_"So why would they try to get at you through Nina and Jess?" Wilson asked._

_Johnny shook his head. "I don't think they would. However, there are a few other restauranteurs who've been eying this area for their next ventures for the same reason I'm here."_

_"And you represent an obstacle, an established competitor."_

_"Success has its disadvantages." He snapped his fingers to get the attention of a passing waiter. "Can I get either of you anything? A drink, some food?"_

_Wilson grinned. "House can always eat. Especially food as good as you serve here."_

_"And Wilson hangs around me so that he can eat well, too."_

_The waiter came over and Johnny ordered a few dishes I hadn't seen on the menu. "And a bottle of the chianti superiore."_

_"Very good, Signor Giordano." He turned on his heels and scurried off._

_"So, do these new restauranteurs have names?" I resumed our conversation._

_Johnny nodded. "I'll tell you what I know."_

_Over the next hour, as we ate some of the best Italian food I'd ever had, and that's saying something, he told us about three groups of people who'd been investigating the area as a prime site for a new establishment. A group of Russian immigrants, who'd built up a chain of pierogi and blintzes shops in Brighton Beach and Brooklyn, wanted to branch out into something fancier. Two brothers, who ran a few cheesesteak food trucks in Philly, were itching to establish a foothold in N.J. And finally, a Chinese family, whose noodle shops in New York's Chinatown might have been financed by a Tong back in China, had proposed an Asian Fusion restaurant just across the road from Johnny's place. _

_"But would they resort to anything like abducting two young woman who were only recently associated with you?" I asked._

_Johnny shrugged. "Stranger things have happened." He sipped his expresso and stared out into the crowded restaurant. "There is another possibility, of course."_

_"What's that?" I was afraid he'd say Nina and Jess had disappeared voluntarily._

_"My brother, Peter. He might have found a way to force them to go home with him."_

_I glanced at Wilson. Now would be the time I told Johnny about Peter's visit to my office earlier in the day. "Maybe. But somehow, I don't think it's likely. Peter's beginning to realize that high-handed control of his kids' lives is not the way to win their love back."_

_Johnny raised a bushy eyebrow. "It sounds like you know something I don't."_

_I nodded slowly. "Time you heard about a little visit I had earlier today." _


	87. Chapter 87

__I have to revise a few chapters because I found that I changed a characters name in mid-stream. My OCD won't let that ride.__

_**Chapter 87.**_

_It didn't take me long to fill Johnny in on the conversation I'd had with his brother. I watched his face as I told him how anxious Peter was to reconnect with his kids. He seemed surprised, but not particularly convinced._

_"I told him he could show his good faith by releasing their trust funds, not that they really need the money, but he doesn't know that. In fact, he doesn't know anything about what they've been trying to do."_

_Johnny nodded. "It would be interesting to find out what he's been doing this afternoon and evening, wouldn't you say?"_

_"Well, I suppose, but I doubt it will get us any closer to finding Jess and Nina."_

_"What about the restaurant where they had their meeting this afternoon?" Wilson asked. "We never did establish whether they showed up, or who the owners are."_

_We had let that slip, I knew, but mainly because no one knew where the meeting was supposed to be. "They had to have mentioned something to someone at least about what kind of restaurant it was."_

_"Perhaps my nephew knows something," Johnny said._

_"Did he impress you as the sort of person they'd confide in?" My own opinion of Petey varied from neutral to negative, depending on the day of the week. "More likely they would have said something to Petey's estranged wife."_

_"Did you talk to Ellie?" Wilson asked._

_"No, but maybe we should." I pulled out my phone and found her number in my contact list. As I punched it in, I thought about the fact that she'd been the starting point for where I was today. I wouldn't have met Jess if it hadn't been for Ellie and Christopher._

_She picked up quickly. "Hello?"_

_"Ellie, it's Dr. House. I'm sorry to bother you at such a late hour."_

_"Not at all. Chris has been down for a while and I was just finishing putting all of his things away."_

_"The two of you are alone?"_

_"Well, yes. Who else did you think might be here?"_

_I was surprised Chase wasn't with her, but instead used the question to get to the reason for my call. "I __thought Jess or Nina might have stopped by after all of their meetings today."_

_"No. I haven't seen either of them. Isn't Jess home?"_

_"Um, no." I tried to sound unconcerned. "Did you talk to them?"_

_"Well, Nina called around noon to tell me the meetings went well this morning. They clinched deals with a Japanese sushi place and a sandwich shop near the University. But you probably already knew that."_

_"Sure, sure. Uh, did she say anything about the place they were going this afternoon?"_

_"The Melting Pot? Only that they liked the idea of adding a fondu place to the others, but if it didn't work out, they were none the worse off."_

_"Of course." As I talked to Ellie, my mind was racing. Where had I heard that name before, The Melting Pot? "Well, gotta go. Bye, Ellie." I ended the connection and turned to Wilson and Johnny. "What do either of you know about The Melting Pot? It's a fondu place in downtown Princeton."_

_Wilson nodded. "Yeah, I've been there a couple of times."_

_"What about it?" Johnny asked._

_I opened the browser on my phone and typed in the name. "That's where they were going this afternoon. Seems to me I read something about the place lately."_

_"Isn't that the place where they found a cook in the back alley, stabbed to death?" It figured Wilson would know that._

_"Yeah, here's the story." I'd found the link to it on my phone. "The cops decided it was a mugging, nothing to do with the restaurant."_

_Johnny shook his head. "I'm not familiar with the place, and I don't remember the incident."_

_I handed him my phone so he could read it. "Does this ring any bells?"_

_He read through it and returned the phone to me. "There was a murder in Trenton soon after I arrived in the States. The Maitre d' at a seafood restaurant was found stabbed in the early hours of the morning, and it, too, was attributed to a mugging." He shook his head. "But I heard stories that it was retaliation. The owner of the restaurant had swindled an investor. Unfortunately, the investor had connections. The man who was killed was the brother of the owner."_

_I felt the blood drain from my face. _

_Wilson swallowed loudly. "So what do we do? We can't go to the cops with this."_

_"If Jess and Nina are missing for a long enough time, we could. But that might be too late."_

_"But why would anyone target them?" Wilson asked. _

_I shrugged. "Who knows what either of them might have said that was taken in the wrong way?" I puffed out my lips. "How do we find out who owns the place?" I asked Johnny. _

_"Let me make a few calls. I still can't believe this can't be settled quickly without anyone getting hurt." He stood. "I'll be right back."_

_We watched him go, then Wilson turned to me. "Do you believe him? That he's not connected in some way?"_

_"We have to believe that he'll do whatever he can to help his nieces, whether he's connected or not." I fiddled with my coffee spoon. "If I thought it would help, I'd go over to that restaurant right now."_

_"Why not? We should do that anyway." Wilson started to stand up. "We can demand to know what happened to them, who they talked to this afternoon and when they left, if they did."_

_"It's not the worst idea you ever had." But I remained seated. "Let's see what Johnny finds out first, then we'll drive over there."_

_Wilson sat down again. Twice he started to say something, but seemed to think better of it._

_Finally, Johnny returned. He tossed a sheet of paper on the table as he sat down heavily. "The restaurant is owned by the Bertoli family. The incident you mentioned earlier was the only time there was anything unsavory associated with them or any of their enterprises."_

_"House and I are going over there to find out if Nina and Jess ever showed up this afternoon."_

_Johnny nodded. "That's certainly a reasonable question to ask." He tapped the paper. "I'm going with you. They're my nieces and I have to be sure they're alright."_

_"We don't want anyone there to think we're suspicious of them," I warned._

_"Oh, no. Nothing like that. Just that they didn't arrive home and we're retracing their steps." Johnny smiled. "We'll keep it very pleasant and make no accusations." He motioned to the waiter to clear the table, then stood again and led us out the back way. "I'll take my own car, if you don't mind."_

_"That's fine."_

_We drove to downtown Princeton with Johnny following. The GPS didn't get us too lost. Half an our later, we'd parked a few doors down from the restaurant, and Johnny found a parking place across the street. _

_"Perhaps I should take the lead," he said when we met him in front of the place._

_I thought about it, looked at Wilson, and nodded. He opened the front door and stepped inside. We __weren't far behind._

_A hostess greeted us. "Table for three?"_

_Johnny glanced at us and quickly came to a decision. "No, we're not here to dine. I wonder, is the manager here this evening by any chance? Might I have a word with him?" I knew he could be suave._

_She smiled at him. "I'll see whether Mr. Bertoli is free." She led us to a bench near the entrance. "Please wait here. I won't be long." I sat and looked around. The customers were all well-dressed, talking quietly over pots of boiling liquids and periodically dipping pieces of meat, cheese or bread into them before popping them into their mouths. I'd never been partial to fondu, but I knew there were plenty of people who were._

_After a few minutes, the hostess returned with a tall, imposing man in an expensive-looking dark-gray suit. "You wished to speak with me?" He looked from one of us to the others._

_Johnny stood again and faced him. "Yes. We wondered if you'd seen my nieces earlier today. Nina and Jessica Giordano." He went on to describe them._

_I watched Bertoli's face for any sign of recognition, but there was none. When Johnny stopped, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know them. You say they were here this afternoon?"_

_I joined the conversation. "They had an appointment to talk to someone about offering catering services using your restaurant to supply the food."_

_"I know nothing about that, but they would have seen our assistant manager if they were here." He turned to the hostess. "Is Julio here?"_

_"I believe he took the evening off."_

_Bertoli spread his hands out. "You'll have to return tomorrow, I'm afraid."_

_"Don't you have a way we can contact Julio now?" Johnny wasn't about to give up so easily._

_Bertoli shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't give out personal information about our employees."_

_"You seem to be afraid of lots of things," I commented._

_He frowned at me and sighed. "Miranda, are any of the staff who were here earlier still on duty?"_

_"No, Mr. Bertoli. But I think Luca is still in the back office."_

_Bertoli nodded. "Yes, I saw him earlier." He sighed again. "Come with me." He led us to the back of the restaurant. On the right side were the swinging doors to the kitchen and in the center was a hallway with a sign indicating the restrooms were in that direction. We continued past the restrooms to a door on the left with a large 'Private' sign on it. _


	88. Chapter 88

__I have to revise a few chapters because I found that I changed a characters name in mid-stream. My OCD won't let that ride.__

_**Chapter 88.**_

_Bertoli opened the door and motioned for us to follow him inside. A young man with black hair and mustache and dark eyes leaned back in a chair at a desk, covered with piles of paper. An ancient computer sat on a table to the side. Three file cabinets lined one short wall. _

_"Hi boss!" The man sat up straighter. "Can I help you?"_

_"Not me, but perhaps you can tell these gentlemen whether two young women were here this afternoon to meet with Julio."_

_"Women?"_

_I spoke up. "They had a three o'clock appointment with someone here."_

_"Oh, them. Something about catering, right?"_

_I nodded._

_"Sure, they met with Julio."_

_"Did you see them leave?" Giordano asked._

_He shook his head. "Don't know. Julio had me take over out front. I didn't see them leave, but we were busier than usual today."_

_"Would Julio leave any notes on the meeting?" I asked Bertoli._

_"Only if they reached a tentative proposal. But I would have to pass on whether we were going to made any agreement with anyone." He shook his head. "He didn't leave me anything."_

_"You said that you can't give out contact information for your employees, but would you call him for us and ask about his discussion with Nina and Jess?" Wilson said._

_Bertoli hesitated. I could almost imagine wheels turning in his brain. "I could do that." he took out his cellphone and punched a number, then left the office so he would have privacy._

_We waited for him to return, hoping he'd have news that would help us. But it was obvious from the frown on his face when he walked back through the door that he was unsatisfied with what he'd learned._

_"Julio isn't answering either his home or cellphone. That's not like him." _

_"This is serious, Mr. Bertoli," Johnny said. "I think it's time you tell us where he lives. If you wish to __accompany us, I have no objection, but we have to find and talk to him."_

_Bertoli hesitated, but then nodded. "Alright. He lives on Cedar, not far from the library. Luca, I'll be going with these gentlemen."_

_"Sure, boss. I hope Julio's not in any kind of trouble."_

_"So do I." Bertoli turned to us. "Let's go."_

_We all got into Johnny's car and sped off toward the part of Princeton where Julio lived with Bertoli giving directions. "It's that building, the one with the green awning."_

_Johnny parked not far away and we all got out. It was a four-story apartment house. No doorman but you couldn't enter without one of the residents letting you in. Bertoli pushed a button next to the name Julio Curci. There was no response. I reached over and pushed a random button. _

_"Who's there?" a tremulous voice came through the tinny speaker._

_"Hey, Mrs. Carson, I got a delivery for you."_

_Johnny and Bertoli looked at me and shrugged._

_"Sure, sure!" A buzzer sounded and we were in. _

_Bertoli took the stairs to the second floor and we followed. He knocked at the second door along the landing. Still no answer. By that time it wasn't surprising. Julio wasn't home. It was anyone's guess where he was instead._

_"Does he have a girlfriend or a close relative who'd know where he went?" Wilson asked._

_Bertoli shook his head. "He's only been here about a year. His family's all still back in Sicily."_

_"So now what?"_

_"We can wait for him to come home." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms._

_"Or we check to make sure he isn't just playing possum." I removed a credit card from my wallet and attacked the lock to the door._

_Bertoli stood up straighter and glared at me. "Hey, what are you doing? Isn't that breaking and entering?"_

_"I'm a doctor and I'm afraid I need to get into this apartment to make sure Julio isn't so ill he can't answer his bell." The lock clicked and I pushed the door open._

_It was a studio apartment. Kitchen alcove to the right, living area with a sectional couch and a big-screen TV straight ahead, and an unmade bed off to the left. Two doors led to the bathroom and a __closet. Julio wasn't there. _

_I looked for any clues, beginning in the kitchen. The best I could do was a pad on the counter, but there was nothing written on it. "Anyone got a pencil?" All I got were three questioning stares. I grimaced back at them. "Haven't you ever used one to see what was written on the last page removed from a pad of paper?"_

_Wilson's face cleared first. "Oh!" He reached into his pocket protector and took out a mechanical pencil. "Will this do?" He held it out to me._

_"Better than nothing." I rubbed the graphite on the pad, but all that showed up was a number. From the spacing, I guessed it was a phone number. I punched it into my phone but all I got was a recording from a movie theater not far away, giving the time of the showings of the latest films._

_A phone began to chime. It wasn't mine. I'd never use that ringtone. Bertoli flipped open an older phone, shook his head, but answered anyway. "Hello? Who is this?" His face paled as he listened. "What do you want?" He reached for the pad I'd been examining along with Wilson's pencil. "Fourteenth? Yeah, I got that." He closed the phone and turned to us. "They want a hundred thousand for the return of my employees. From the description, I think they mean Julio and the two women."_

_"What else did they say?"_

_"I'm supposed to bring the money to the bus station on Fourteenth Street, and leave it in locker six-oh-four, then walk away. They say they'll deliver the three of them to the alley behind the restaurant within an hour."_

_"And you believed them?" I couldn't believe he'd be so trusting._

_Bertoli shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"_

_"Can you come up with the money?" Wilson asked._

_"It won't be easy."_

_"I can help," Johnny offered._

_Wilson nodded. "We can too."_

_For once I didn't tell him not to speak for me. _

_"There's a bank with an ATM a couple of blocks down. We'll stop there." Bertoli started for the door._

_I tried to figure the angles as we left the building, but he was right. We didn't have any other options. All we could do was hope the extortionists would release the sisters. I tried not to think about how frightened they must be. I knew Jess was strong, but wasn't as sure about Nina._

_We drove to the bank and each of us tapped our accounts, coming up with the required amount. At a __dollar store nearby, we picked up a cheap backpack and stuffed the bills into it, then continued on to the bus station. Inside, it smelled like every bus station I'd ever been in, a mixture of beer and sweat, urine and bleach that couldn't mask any of the rest. Fumes from the buses running outside penetrated to add just the right touch._

_Banks of lockers were on either side of the ticket booths. Like all of the others, six oh four didn't have a lock. Luckily it wasn't in use, but there was no way to prevent anyone from opening it and removing the money before the abductors showed up. _

_"What do we do now?" Wilson asked._

_"We leave the money and walk away." Bertoli opened the locker door wide and stuffed the backpack inside, then shut it again. _

_"Maybe someone should stay and watch it."_

_Bertoli shook his head. "I took enough of a chance having you three guys with me when I put the money in. They told me to come alone. And they also said to leave and not look back or something bad would happen to Julio and the ladies."_

_Wilson and I nodded and walked away. _

_Johnny hesitated, but he soon joined us outside the terminal. "I don't like this but I guess it can't be helped."_

_As Bertoli walked past us he said, "Let's get over to the restaurant. We should be in the alley when they drop them off."_

_It was a short drive, but my heart was in my throat the entire way. So many things could go wrong. _

_Out in the street it was still bright, between the streetlights and the light pouring out of the stores and restaurants, but the alley was dark. We found a spot to wait, near a smelly dumpster. I swear I heard the scurry of rats around us and was glad I couldn't see them. _

_We didn't have long to wait. A long black car, maybe a Lincoln, drove up to the mouth of the alley and stopped. Three bundles were tossed out before the car sped off again._


	89. Chapter 89

__I have to revise a few chapters because I found that I changed a characters name in mid-stream. My OCD won't let that ride.__

_**Chapter 88.**_

_Bertoli opened the door and motioned for us to follow him inside. A young man with black hair and mustache and dark eyes leaned back in a chair at a desk, covered with piles of paper. An ancient computer sat on a table to the side. Three file cabinets lined one short wall. _

_"Hi boss!" The man sat up straighter. "Can I help you?"_

_"Not me, but perhaps you can tell these gentlemen whether two young women were here this afternoon to meet with Julio."_

_"Women?"_

_I spoke up. "They had a three o'clock appointment with someone here."_

_"Oh, them. Something about catering, right?"_

_I nodded._

_"Sure, they met with Julio."_

_"Did you see them leave?" Giordano asked._

_He shook his head. "Don't know. Julio had me take over out front. I didn't see them leave, but we were busier than usual today."_

_"Would Julio leave any notes on the meeting?" I asked Bertoli._

_"Only if they reached a tentative proposal. But I would have to pass on whether we were going to made any agreement with anyone." He shook his head. "He didn't leave me anything."_

_"You said that you can't give out contact information for your employees, but would you call him for us and ask about his discussion with Nina and Jess?" Wilson said._

_Bertoli hesitated. I could almost imagine wheels turning in his brain. "I could do that." he took out his cellphone and punched a number, then left the office so he would have privacy._

_We waited for him to return, hoping he'd have news that would help us. But it was obvious from the frown on his face when he walked back through the door that he was unsatisfied with what he'd learned._

_"Julio isn't answering either his home or cellphone. That's not like him." _

_"This is serious, Mr. Bertoli," Johnny said. "I think it's time you tell us where he lives. If you wish to __accompany us, I have no objection, but we have to find and talk to him."_

_Bertoli hesitated, but then nodded. "Alright. He lives on Cedar, not far from the library. Luca, I'll be going with these gentlemen."_

_"Sure, boss. I hope Julio's not in any kind of trouble."_

_"So do I." Bertoli turned to us. "Let's go."_

_We all got into Johnny's car and sped off toward the part of Princeton where Julio lived with Bertoli giving directions. "It's that building, the one with the green awning."_

_Johnny parked not far away and we all got out. It was a four-story apartment house. No doorman but you couldn't enter without one of the residents letting you in. Bertoli pushed a button next to the name Julio Curci. There was no response. I reached over and pushed a random button. _

_"Who's there?" a tremulous voice came through the tinny speaker._

_"Hey, Mrs. Carson, I got a delivery for you."_

_Johnny and Bertoli looked at me and shrugged._

_"Sure, sure!" A buzzer sounded and we were in. _

_Bertoli took the stairs to the second floor and we followed. He knocked at the second door along the landing. Still no answer. By that time it wasn't surprising. Julio wasn't home. It was anyone's guess where he was instead._

_"Does he have a girlfriend or a close relative who'd know where he went?" Wilson asked._

_Bertoli shook his head. "He's only been here about a year. His family's all still back in Sicily."_

_"So now what?"_

_"We can wait for him to come home." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms._

_"Or we check to make sure he isn't just playing possum." I removed a credit card from my wallet and attacked the lock to the door._

_Bertoli stood up straighter and glared at me. "Hey, what are you doing? Isn't that breaking and entering?"_

_"I'm a doctor and I'm afraid I need to get into this apartment to make sure Julio isn't so ill he can't answer his bell." The lock clicked and I pushed the door open._

_It was a studio apartment. Kitchen alcove to the right, living area with a sectional couch and a big-screen TV straight ahead, and an unmade bed off to the left. Two doors led to the bathroom and a __closet. Julio wasn't there. _

_I looked for any clues, beginning in the kitchen. The best I could do was a pad on the counter, but there was nothing written on it. "Anyone got a pencil?" All I got were three questioning stares. I grimaced back at them. "Haven't you ever used one to see what was written on the last page removed from a pad of paper?"_

_Wilson's face cleared first. "Oh!" He reached into his pocket protector and took out a mechanical pencil. "Will this do?" He held it out to me._

_"Better than nothing." I rubbed the graphite on the pad, but all that showed up was a number. From the spacing, I guessed it was a phone number. I punched it into my phone but all I got was a recording from a movie theater not far away, giving the time of the showings of the latest films._

_A phone began to chime. It wasn't mine. I'd never use that ringtone. Bertoli flipped open an older phone, shook his head, but answered anyway. "Hello? Who is this?" His face paled as he listened. "What do you want?" He reached for the pad I'd been examining along with Wilson's pencil. "Fourteenth? Yeah, I got that." He closed the phone and turned to us. "They want a hundred thousand for the return of my employees. From the description, I think they mean Julio and the two women."_

_"What else did they say?"_

_"I'm supposed to bring the money to the bus station on Fourteenth Street, and leave it in locker six-oh-four, then walk away. They say they'll deliver the three of them to the alley behind the restaurant within an hour."_

_"And you believed them?" I couldn't believe he'd be so trusting._

_Bertoli shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"_

_"Can you come up with the money?" Wilson asked._

_"It won't be easy."_

_"I can help," Johnny offered._

_Wilson nodded. "We can too."_

_For once I didn't tell him not to speak for me. _

_"There's a bank with an ATM a couple of blocks down. We'll stop there." Bertoli started for the door._

_I tried to figure the angles as we left the building, but he was right. We didn't have any other options. All we could do was hope the extortionists would release the sisters. I tried not to think about how frightened they must be. I knew Jess was strong, but wasn't as sure about Nina._

_We drove to the bank and each of us tapped our accounts, coming up with the required amount. At a __dollar store nearby, we picked up a cheap backpack and stuffed the bills into it, then continued on to the bus station. Inside, it smelled like every bus station I'd ever been in, a mixture of beer and sweat, urine and bleach that couldn't mask any of the rest. Fumes from the buses running outside penetrated to add just the right touch._

_Banks of lockers were on either side of the ticket booths. Like all of the others, six oh four didn't have a lock. Luckily it wasn't in use, but there was no way to prevent anyone from opening it and removing the money before the abductors showed up. _

_"What do we do now?" Wilson asked._

_"We leave the money and walk away." Bertoli opened the locker door wide and stuffed the backpack inside, then shut it again. _

_"Maybe someone should stay and watch it."_

_Bertoli shook his head. "I took enough of a chance having you three guys with me when I put the money in. They told me to come alone. And they also said to leave and not look back or something bad would happen to Julio and the ladies."_

_Wilson and I nodded and walked away. _

_Johnny hesitated, but he soon joined us outside the terminal. "I don't like this but I guess it can't be helped."_

_As Bertoli walked past us he said, "Let's get over to the restaurant. We should be in the alley when they drop them off."_

_It was a short drive, but my heart was in my throat the entire way. So many things could go wrong. _

_Out in the street it was still bright, between the streetlights and the light pouring out of the stores and restaurants, but the alley was dark. We found a spot to wait, near a smelly dumpster. I swear I heard the scurry of rats around us and was glad I couldn't see them. _

_We didn't have long to wait. A long black car, maybe a Lincoln, drove up to the mouth of the alley and stopped. Three bundles were tossed out before the car sped off again._


	90. Chapter 90

__I have to revise a few chapters because I found that I changed a characters name in mid-stream. My OCD won't let that ride.__

_**Chapter 90.**_

_Julio's arm was broken, not badly. The doctor in the ER had it set. "It'll heal quickly. You're young and healthy," he was saying as I approached to have a few words before the cops arrived to interrogate the three victims._

_"Jess says the kidnappers had a grudge against you." I fixed his eyes with mine. "Something about a cousin?"_

_"Who are you?" He stared back at me._

_Jess came over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Julio, this is my boyfriend, Greg House. He's a doctor. You can trust him."_

_The young man nodded. "They were talking about my cousin, Francesca." His English was good, although heavily accented. "She was married to a big shot in the Sicilian Mafia, but escaped her home in Sicily and came to America. They found her anyway and tried to take her back, but she was killed in a, how you say, skirmish? By a rival of her husband's here in New Jersey." He looked from me to Jess and back again. "It was one of the reasons I was sent here, to avenge her death." He looked across the room at his boss with a worried expression. "You won't tell Mr. Bertoli, will you?" _

_I shook my head. The kid deserved a break. But I still had questions for him, and three uniformed cops had appeared in the entryway to the ER. "So you know who the rivals are? You can name names?"_

_He pressed his lips together and swallowed hard. He looked past me at the cops. "It's the Locarno family. I'm pretty sure they're the ones who had us snatched."_

_That made sense up to a point. But if they wanted to get back at Julio and his family, why ask for a ransom and then let him go? Wouldn't they have made sure to send a message by killing him, or at least hurting him in some way? I didn't get a chance to ask, because that was the moment two of the policemen descended on Julio and Jess, while the third, a woman, cornered Nina._

_"I'm officer Dolan. We'll need statements from both of you, and from the other young lady." The older of the two, shorter than his partner with dark hair graying at the temples and deep worry lines in his round face, took out a tablet to take notes._

_Jess took the lead, giving her name and the fact that they were grabbed near The Melting Pot at about four thirty in the afternoon, tied up and blindfolded, and tossed into a car. "I can't tell you where they took us, but we rode for more than fifteen minutes. The only thing they asked me was my name and what I was doing with Julio."_

_"And Julio is you, young man?" the cop asked._

_"Yes." He looked at me as if I should coach him on his answers. I could understand his trepidation. _

_"Did either of you recognize the voices of any of your abductors?" Dolan asked._

_Both Jess and Julio shook their heads._

_The other cop, tall, thin and black with a narrow mustache, had another question. "How many were there?" _

_Jess and Julio exchanged a shrug. "I think I heard three voices, but I could be wrong," she said._

_"Jersey accents?" The older cop continued to probe._

_"I'm not sure what a Jersey accent sounds like." Julio shrugged again, but seemed more comfortable with the line of questions._

_The black cop chuckled. "Did they sound like you? Any of 'em have an accent?"_

_He shook his head. "They sounded American."_

_Jess nodded. "Sounded more New York than New Jersey to me, but I'm no expert." _

_"Were there any other identifiable sounds? Traffic or an airplane? Something that might help us zero in on where they took you?" Dolan was concentrating on what they heard, which made sense since they couldn't see anything._

_Julio scratched his ear. "At one point I heard a siren, like an ambulance or something." _

_Jess nodded. "I heard that, too, only I thought it was a fire engine. It was about an hour after we got wherever they took us."_

_"What about smells? Cooking or fish, maybe exhaust fumes?" The younger one was being thorough, I'll give him that._

_Jess' face brightened. "Now that you mention it, the place smelled of disinfectant. Bleach maybe."_

_Both cops turned to me then. "Tell me about the ransom," Mustache said._

_I pointed at the owner of The Melting Pot with my cane. "Bertoli got the call while we were looking for Julio at his apartment. They wanted the money delivered to the bus station, to a specific locker. We knew it was chancy, but had no other choice."_

_"You could have come to us." _

_"And what would you have done?" I sighed. "Look, we paid the money, Julio and the girls are safely back, end of story."_

_"I'm afraid it isn't...Mr...?"_

_"It's Doctor. Dr. Gregory House."_

_That seemed to stump them. "You're a doctor?" The tall one didn't look convinced._

_"Wanna see my stethoscope?" _

_His partner made a placating motion with his hands. "We'll take your word for it. So what's your interest in all this."_

_"I'm with her." I pointed at Jess. They both looked at Jess and then at me, with obvious incredulity. We got that a lot, but I didn't let it faze me. "Guess she lucked out, huh?" I grinned._

_Jess pursed her lips to keep from laughing. She took a deep breath and asked. "What happens now?"_

_"We see whether we can locate the place you were taken and the car that brought you back."_

_"Someone got the plate number?" I asked._

_Dolan smiled and nodded. "Not so smart, these kidnappers. We'll also check at the bus station to see whether anyone noticed who picked up the money."_

_"It was in a cheap back pack. Dark green with black trim."_

_"Good to know." He looked at his handheld. "We'll need your contact information. You can expect to hear from us in the next few days. In the meantime, don't go far."_

_"We have no intention of leaving Princeton," Jess said. "My sister and I are starting a new business, and Julio has a job at The Melting Pot." She gave them our address and phone numbers, and so did Julio._

_They nodded simultaneously, then joined the female cop and left. I hoped the story Nina told agreed with what Jess and Julio said. It had all been the truth as far as it went, so there shouldn't be any questions. But I still had my reservations about the entire incident, too many anomalies that couldn't be explained. _

_Nina walked over with Wilson. "That was intense!" _

_"Was she hard on you?" Her sister put a hand on her arm._

_"Well, no, but she had so many questions. I hope I didn't mess up with my answers."_

_I shrugged. "As long as you told her the truth."_

_"As much as I knew. How'd it go with the other two cops?"_

_Jess looked at Julio before she answered. "As Greg said, we told them the truth. The facts about what __happened. It was hard to tell whether they bought it, but if your story and ours coincide they'll have to believe it."_

_"Why shouldn't they?" Wilson asked. "You three were the victims here. Why should they think you'd lie about any of it?"_

_I sighed. "Because the motives of the kidnappers are still unclear." I shook my head. "This didn't follow the usual pattern for a kidnapping. The demand for money came too soon. The amount wasn't all that high for them to have risked so much. And they didn't harm any of you, at least not badly." I looked at Julio's arm, now in a sling._

_"I think they probably just wanted Julio, but when they got Nina and me, too, they panicked."_

_I smiled. "That's possible. At least it explains how quickly they let you go. But I think we're still missing something." _

_Bertoli had been on his cellphone while we were talking. He joined us and slapped Julio on the back. "I guess we can all go home now."_

_"The policemen said they'll be contacting us," Julio told him._

_"Don't worry about it." He shrugged. "Chances are they'll never catch the guys, but at least you're all safe and sound."_

_I shook my head. "I agree with the cops. I don't think this is over, not by a long shot." _


	91. Chapter 91

__As I promised, I have another chapter for you all tonight. The aftermath of the ordeal that Jess and Nina went through is just beginning, and House is determined to find out what was behind the kidnapping.__

__Thank you all for you comments. You know how much I appreciate them. __

_**Chapter 91.**_

_Wilson dropped us off at our place before he took Nina home. We were all drained, especially the two sisters. Jess went immediately to the couch, plopped down and put her head in her hands. _

_I didn't know what to do for her. "Is there anything I can get you?" _

_She looked up. "What? Oh. You know, I am kinda hungry. I haven't eaten anything since lunch."_

_I nodded and limped into the kitchen to see what we had. There were usually some leftovers in the fridge. "There's some General Tso's and a slice of the pepperoni pizza," I called out around the open refrigerator door._

_"OK."_

_"Which?" _

_"Both."_

_I chuckled and brought them out to her with a fork and a napkin, glad that she liked her leftovers cold._

_She scarfed down the Chinese food first. "Yum. I didn't realize how hungry I was!"_

_"Nothing like being kidnapped to improve the appetite. How about a beer to wash that down?" Watching her was making me hungry again._

_She took a break from munching the pizza to reply. "Iced tea, if we have any."_

_I returned to the refrigerator and got her a Snapple and a beer for myself. I also found some cold spaghetti, sniffed it, and grabbed a fork for myself, then joined Jess on the couch. "So are we going to talk about it, or are you going to ignore the fact that you've just been through a traumatic event?"_

_Slowly chewing the pizza, she studied my face, then swallowed. A gulp of her drink followed before she finally shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about. Like you said. I'm home safe and sound."_

_"I didn't say that, but alright. You're not injured except for a few bumps and bruises. That's just physical. Jess, you have to admit that being grabbed, blindfolded and held even for a few hours had to affect you."_

_She sighed. "You won't let up, will you? OK, yes, it was frightening. I didn't know where I was, why I __was there, or what was going to happen to me." She shook her head. "I can't tell you yet how I feel about it now, only that I'm glad to be home, here, with you. And I won't let it affect me. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, worried that someone will snatch me again."_

_I stared at her. She had more steel in her than I'd known, and that was a good thing. Maybe she could move on without resolving her emotions about what had happened. If so, she was a better man than I, because I knew I'd be worried about her every time she was out of my sight. I'd never admit it to anyone, not even Jess, though. I nodded once. "OK, if you say so. We move on."_

_"Right. You're still intrigued by the puzzle, though, aren't you?"_

_That was something I could admit. "Aren't you?"_

_"Sure. I do have a vested interest in finding out what's going on. And I agree with you. There's something fishy about the entire thing." She took another sip of her iced tea and tilted her head. "I believe Julio's story, but there has to be more."_

_"So, what do we know?"_

_"That he was sent here to avenge the death of his cousin." She started to tick things off on her fingers. _

_"Well, he didn't actually say 'avenge', but, alright, we can assume that."_

_"That he believes she was killed by the Locarno family."_

_"Ever hear of them?"_

_She shook her head. "Maybe Uncle Johnny has. We'll have to ask what he knows about them."_

_I nodded. Johnny could be a good source of information for us._

_She tapped a third finger. "Whoever took us did know about his cousin. Oh, and they spoke Italian, which probably doesn't prove much."_

_"Au contraire. How do you say that in Italian? Oh, yeah, anzi."_

_Her eyebrows went way up. "What do you mean?"_

_"It's true that there are many people of Italian descent in New Jersey, but not many actually speak it. And they knew that he did."_

_"True." She scratched her ear. "OK, about the place we were taken. I smelled bleach."_

_"It could have been a laundry or near one."_

_"Or maybe somewhere that had been scrubbed down after an accident..."_

_"...or a murder."_

_"Oh, no!"_

_Her startled eyes forced me to amend my statement. "We are talking about the people who grabbed you and blindfolded you before throwing you into a car. Who knows what they may be capable of."_

_She blew out a breath and shook her head. "They didn't kill us, or even beat us up."_

_"True, and that in itself is curious. Maybe not you, but I would have thought they would have roughed up Julio just a little."_

_"As if they'd been ordered to avoid harming him."_

_"Exactly." I nodded and smiled. It always pleased me that she caught on so fast._

_"But why would that be?" She seemed to be thinking out loud. "Unless it wasn't the Locarnos. But who else would it be?"_

_I shrugged. No one else made sense at that point. Time to move on to something else. "Any other info that can help us?"_

_"I've been wondering about the ransom amount, and the fact that they wanted it delivered to the bus station."_

_"Go on."_

_"Well, suppose they got cold feet. We've been speculating that abducting us along with Julio wasn't in their original plan. Maybe the kidnappers decided they didn't want anything to do with it any more. With a hundred grand they could leave town, disappear."_

_"On a bus. Yeah. I like the way you think. So maybe there wasn't supposed to be a ransom. But that would mean whoever ordered the snatch will now be after their own guys, the ones who nabbed you."_

_She nodded._

_"But how does that help us?"_

_"They'll be too busy tracking those people down to try again."_

_"Would they, now that the cops are involved? They'd have to know that Julio is being watched. You and Nina, too, I suspect."_

_"I hadn't thought of that."_

_"What, you think you gave a statement and now you're home free?" I shook my head. "It doesn't work that way. One, they're sworn to protect you, and two, if they have any suspicions at all that one or all of __you are involved in any way, they'll be on you like jelly on peanut butter."_

_She shivered. "Why doesn't that reassure me of my safety?"_

_"We'll deal with it. Just go about your business and ignore them."_

_"Is that what you'd do under the circumstances? Or would you play with them, and really give them something to be suspicious about?" _

_I smirked. That was exactly what I'd do._

_"Nina and I have finished with our meetings. We'd planned on spending tomorrow mapping out our next steps, possibly coming up with ways to advertise our company. If the cops want to watch that, that's their business."_

_"Maybe they'll want you to cater a party for them."_

_She grinned. "That's an idea." She nuzzled against me again. "You will call and let me know if you find out anything. About the Locarno family, I mean."_

_I couldn't deny that I'd intended to check them out. "Did you want to talk to Uncle Johnny or should I?"_

_"Why don't we each do that separately? Who knows whether he'd tell us the same things."_

_"Good point."_

_She looked at the empty food containers. "But now, I think I need some sleep. And I do mean sleep." She cleaned up the mess from our impromptu meal and I followed her down the hall to the bedroom. She let me undress her, but once she put on her sleep pants and top and stretched out on the bed, she was out like a light. _

_"Sleep well, Jess," I whispered as I got in next to her and kissed her forehead. _

_The next thing I knew it was morning. It wasn't a bright light coming through the window that woke me, but some sounds coming from the bathroom. I padded to the door. "Jess, are you alright?"_

_"I will be. I think it's just a delayed reaction to yesterday." When she opened the door, her face was pale and her eyes duller than usual. "Either that or I'm coming down with the flu."_

_"It's not flu season." I reached out to feel her forehead. "You're not hot." I grinned. "Well, you're hot, but you're not feverish." I used my fingers to open her right eye. "Focused and clear. I think you were right the first time."_

_"Or maybe it was the leftovers."_

_"Always a possibility." I dropped my hands to my sides. "A shower and some breakfast might help. C'mon."_

_She was scrambling some eggs for both of us when her phone rang. She continued to stir the eggs with one hand while she reached for the phone with the other. "Hello?"_

_I watched her face, eyes narrowing and mouth frowning as she listened. "Yeah, I didn't feel too great myself this morning. Did you want me to bring you anything?"_

_The cloud never left her face. "OK, I'll be there as soon as I can. Just sit tight." She closed the connection and turned to me. "Nina's feeling miserable. I'm going to go over and see what I can do for her." She poured the eggs into the hot skillet, stirred them a few times while they set, then filled a plate with eggs and some rashers of bacon and handed it to me. "Enjoy. I'll let you know how she's doing."_

_"Give me a minute to eat this and I'll go with you."_

_She shook her head. "You don't have to."_

_"Yes I do. I think you were both exposed to something while you were being held yesterday, and I'd like to know what it was."_


	92. Chapter 92

__House and Jess are now focused on what made her and her sister sick the morning after their kidnapping. Could the cause help them find out where they were held, and tell them who or what was behind it?__

__Thank you again for all your wonderful comments, and for making this story a favorite.__

_**Chapter 92.**_

_Jess made some eggs for herself and filled her own breakfast plate before turning to me. "Is that what you think it is? That we were exposed to something that made us sick? But that will give us another clue as to where we were being held!" She took her own breakfast with a thoughtful look on her face. "Bleach wouldn't do this, would it?"_

_"Not unless you drank it. No, I think it was something else, maybe something the bleach masked."_

_She ate her eggs slowly. I could almost see the gears turning in her head. "I certainly didn't smell anything else, but..."_

_"But what?" I crunched my toast while I waited for her to remember._

_"Greg, you know we're both allergic to peanuts." It was one of the first things I learned about her. She had to avoid not only the nuts but food cooked in peanut oil._

_I shook my head. "If it was an allergy, you would have reacted to it immediately rather than more than twelve hours later."_

_"I can't think of anything else."_

_"Maybe Nina can." As I sipped my coffee, I thought about what tests I could do to find out what was affecting them._

_"Well, let's finish up and go see what we can do for her, at least." She ate the last of her food and took the plate to the dishwasher, returning to drink her coffee. _

_"You seem to be over whatever it was," I said._

_"Oh, I'm feeling much better!" She put her cup down and stood. "I'm going to get dressed."_

_Forty-five minutes later we were in the car on our way to Nina's. She'd found an apartment not too far from where I lived for so long before Jess and I bought the condo. It was a new, upscale building but not as expensive as some of the ones in downtown Princeton. We parked in the visitors' lot and took the elevator to the fifth floor. Wilson answered my knock._

_"Why aren't you at the hospital?" I walked past him into the living room. Nina hadn't finished furnishing it yet, but there was a cushy beige sofa and two mahogany end tables holding matching lamps. Nina was ensconced in a recliner with a blanket over her and a cup in her hand._

_"I could ask you the same thing." Wilson closed the door and walked over to Nina._

_"How are you doing now?" Jess brushed a hair off her sisters pale face. Nina looked worse than Jess had earlier in the morning._

_"A little better. But you look just fine. I thought you said you weren't feeling well, too."_

_"It passed. Greg thinks we were both exposed to something while we were being held yesterday, something that made us sick."_

_"I wonder how Julio is." Wilson looked at me. _

_"I would guess he's not doing well either." But Julio wasn't my concern, at least not yet._

_Nina's forehead furrowed. "The only thing we're both allergic to is peanuts."_

_"It wasn't peanuts."_

_"So what was it?" The furrows deepened._

_"Ah, now that's where you come in. Jess says she smelled bleach. Did you smell it? Or anything else?"_

_"That's what that was! Yes. Bleach." Her nose scrunched. "I don't think there was anything else, but that was so strong, who could tell?"_

_"What about when you were in the car?" We'd been concentrating on the place they'd been held, but they could have been exposed elsewhere. "Or maybe Julio gave you something to eat while you were talking to him earlier?""_

_Each of the sisters shook her head. Nina sighed. "All we had at the restaurant was coffee. Very good coffee, in fact."_

_"And in the car? Did you smell anything?" Wilson took her hand._

_"No. But the gag did taste a little funny, didn't it, Jess?"_

_"Now that you mention it..." Jess licked her lips. "It tasted a little like bleach, too, but not quite."_

_Maybe we were finally getting somewhere. "Did they use the same kind of fabric on your eyes as your mouth?"_

_Jess shrugged. "As far as I could tell. Honestly, it wasn't the most important thing on my mind."_

_"But your eyes didn't burn." Wilson was thinking the same things I was, that the kidnappers had used the cleaning rags from the site where they were held as gags and blindfolds. Maybe they tried to rinse them out first but there'd been enough residue to make the women sick._

_"Could it have been a mixture of bleach and some kind of soap or detergent?" We had to pinpoint all of the smells._

_"I guess so."_

_"Hmm. I remember I kept thinking it tasted like a laundromat smells, but that was mostly the bleach."_

_I smiled. "The smell was much stronger at the site, right?"_

_"Oh, yeah. One of the guys had really bad body odor, but you couldn't smell him at all once we got there."_

_"You know, the bleach alone could have caused some stomach upset, especially if there was any on the gags they put in your mouths." Wilson said._

_"There was something else. I just can't think what it was."_

_"Was it sweet? Bitter?" I needed to jog her memory. "Did it make you feel dizzy at all?"_

_Her eyes seemed to concentrate on a spot on the wall behind me for a while._

_"More sweet than anything. Almost like..." She shook her head and looked into my eyes. "I know it'll come to me when I least expect it."_

_"Meanwhile, we should do blood tests on you both." Wilson looked at me for confirmation._

_I nodded. "Urine, too. There may be some residue or metabolites of whatever it was."_

_"Will we have to go to the hospital?" Nina pulled her blanket tighter around herself._

_"I think we can manage here. I'll get my bag from my car." Wilson headed for the door._

_We watched him go. "Once we get your samples, Wilson or I will take them into the lab for analysis. We should know soon, and then we can treat you if we have to."_

_Nina nodded. She still looked pale._

_"Why is it taking longer for my sister to recover than I did?" Jess took the cup Nina had been drinking from. "Nina, can I get you anything?"_

_She smiled at Jess. "Maybe some more tea. There are bags in the cupboard over the sink."_

_Jess left her sister's side and went to the kitchen. I followed her. _

_She filled a teapot with water and put it on the stove. "Did you want some tea, too?"_

_"Have you ever known me to drink tea when I wasn't sick?"_

_She smirked. "I doubt there's any beer." She opened the refrigerator, looked inside and shook her head._

_"I didn't come in here to get a drink."_

_She turned to me with narrowed eyes. _

_"I wanted to warn you. Nina should have recovered by now, unless she got a bigger dose than you did of whatever caused your distress. And if she did, there could be a permanent effect."_

_"What do you mean? Do you know what we were exposed to?"_

_"I'm beginning to have some ideas. The blood and urine tests will confirm. But quite a few substances, if ingested, can cause damage to the organs."_

_Her hand went to her mouth. "But we didn't eat or drink anything."_

_"Whatever was on the gags could have been absorbed by your lips or tongue. The critical thing is the amount."_

_Jess nodded as her frown deepened. "Is it alright to give Nina some tea?"_

_"Alkaloids and caffeine can't hurt at this point."_

_The teakettle whistled and she poured the boiling water over a teabag in a white ceramic coffee mug. "I don't think you should tell Nina this until you have your lab results."_

_I nodded, then followed her back to the living room. _

_Wilson had returned and was taking a sample of Nina's blood. When he was done, Jess handed her sister the cup of tea, then held out her own arm. He took some blood and handed her a sample cup. "Go pee."_

_"Hey, watch what you say to my girlfriend!" _

_Wilson and Jess chuckled, and she headed for the bathroom._

_"Do you think you can give me a sample, too?" Wilson asked Nina, resting his hand on hers._

_She nodded. "I think I'm about to give you something else, though." Her face was green and her forehead clammy. Wilson helped her stand as she headed for the bathroom but the door was closed. She bolted for the kitchen sink. Wilson was able to sample some of what she produced. By the time she stopped heaving, Jess was out of the bathroom and House had a wet washcloth to wipe Nina's face. He helped her back to the recliner. _

_Wilson rested a hand on her shoulder. "Rest a minute or two and then we'll get your urine sample." _

_Jess told Wilson, "Stay here with Nina. Greg and I will take the samples in to the lab."_

_"Let us know what you find, and whether there's something I should do for Nina."_

_Jess and I exchanged a glance. I nodded. "We'll call as soon as we get the results. And be prepared to bring Nina to the hospital."_


	93. Chapter 93

__House and Jess are heading for the hospital to have her samples and her sister's analyzed. What will they find? What can be done for Nina? And what will it tell them about their kidnapping?__

__Thank you all again for your wonderful comments, and for making this story a favorite. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate that holiday, and a good week to everyone.__

_**Chapter 93.**_

_The lab was busy when we arrived, but I knew a tech who had a soft spot for me and got her to rush the analysis through. Jess and I waited in my office._

_"Do you think we should call Julio? See if he's alright?" She twisted a piece of hair in her fingers as she paced between my desk and the door._

_"Please sit down. You're making me nauseous now."_

_"Sorry." She dropped onto the Eames chair, but sat on the edge. "So, Julio. Should we call?"_

_"If he's sick, he'll call us." The young man wasn't my primary concern, although I did want to check out his story. "What did he say was the name of his cousin?"_

_"Huh? Oh, um, Francesca. But he didn't give the last name."_

_I grimaced. "That'll make it more difficult, but not impossible." I turned on my computer. I had Julio's name, Francesca's first name and the name Locarno. "Also, we know Julio and his cousin were from Sicily. Then there's your uncle and Bertoli."_

_"My sister may be dying and you're surfing the web?"_

_"We still need to know why the kid was kidnapped, and you with him. How else do you think we should spend our time?" I wasn't going to say I thought she needed the distraction, or that I did, too. "Hmm, this is interesting. Where did you say your family was from?"_

_"I don't think I ever did, but it wasn't Sicily. Bologna, our family lived in Bologna. Still does, or at least some of them do." Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"_

_"Because that's where Bertoli's from. But he and your uncle didn't seem to know each other." I turned back to the screen. _

_"Greg, Bologna's a big city. Besides, my uncle was born here, remember?"_

_"When did you and your father attempt to visit your family there?"_

_She stopped to think. "It was after Mom died." She closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, she said, "Six years ago. What are you getting at?"_

_"I'm not sure myself. I just don't believe in coincidences. They're as bad as anomalies."_

_My phone rang. I glanced at Jess before answering. "Do you have the results?"_

_"The analysis showed the presence of metabolites of ethylene glycol, Doctor." The voice was matter-of-fact, but I heard a hint of concern. _

_"Now that we know for certain, we can take the necessary steps. Thanks for getting the results to me so quickly."_

_"Any time, Dr. House. I...I hope they'll be alright."_

_I nodded, although she couldn't see it, and looked at Jess. She seemed none the worse for her exposure. It was Nina I was concerned about. "We'll let you know." I hung up and immediately called Wilson. _

_"House, any news?"_

_"It was ethylene glycol."_

_Wilson let out his breath. "A common ingredient in many household products not to mention antifreeze and brake fluid. But it can be toxic if ingested."_

_"There couldn't have been more than traces in the rags. Jess and Nina couldn't have been exposed to very much."_

_"Then why is Nina still sick?"_

_I swallowed. How could I reply? "Is she any better?" I prayed she wasn't seizing._

_"After you left, she fell asleep for a little while and seemed to have a little more color when she woke."_

_"That's a good sign."_

_"House, I'm bringing her in to the hospital."_

_"That's a good idea. We can treat her with ethylene and fomepizole. I don't think she'll need hemodialysis, but in case she does, she's better off here." I kept my eyes on the phone, hesitant to look at Jess. _

_"We'll be there in half an hour."_

_"Bring her to the ER. I'll...we'll meet you there." I closed the connection and finally looked at Jess. _

_The stricken look on her face showed that she'd understand enough of what I was saying to know her sister's condition was still precarious._

_"Wilson's bringing her in and she'll get all the care he needs." I stood and walked over to her, reaching out a hand. "We should make sure the ER is ready for her when she arrives."_

_She nodded and stood. She gripped my hand as we walked to the elevator. On the way down to the ER, she stood close to me and I could see her fighting her tears. We were alone in the car, so I put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. I kissed her forehead. "Nina will be OK."_

_She bit her lip, but nodded slowly._

_We were in the ER when Wilson arrived with Nina. I'd alerted one of the better doctors about what we were dealing with and he had everything ready. As he took her off to a curtained cubicle to start the treatment, Jess and I waited with Wilson. _

_Jess looked at him with a frown that matched his own. "Greg says she's going to be fine."_

_"I think so. I probably should have brought her in sooner."_

_"And what would they have done?" I shook my head. "Until we knew what she'd been exposed to, they couldn't have done any more than we did. At least she was at home, more comfortable than she would have been here."_

_His eyes squinted. "How'd you get the results so fast?"_

_I chuckled. "Trade secret."_

_"Remind me to have you bring my samples to the lab in the future."_

_I smiled. "They'll admit Nina overnight for observation, see how the antidotes work," I told Jess. "Once she's settled and you've seen her, maybe we should go home."_

_She nodded. "They'll call us if there's any change, won't they?"_

_"They'd better."_

_Wilson motioned us to some chairs in the waiting area. "I've been thinking about how the ethylene glycol got on the cloth they gagged you with." _

_"The most likely source is antifreeze."_

_"But who uses that this time of year?" Wilson had a point._

_"Good question. Brake fluid, then." Those were the two most likely, although not the only products that were based on ethylene glycol._

_"A garage, maybe an auto dealership." Wilson was guessing. Still those were good places to start._

_"Do we know anyone who owns either of those?"_

_"You mean anyone involved in the kidnapping? I don't think so." Jess rubbed her neck. "Do you know __anyone?"_

_Wilson and I shook our heads. "We can check whether the Locarnos do," he said._

_"I think we're missing something." I tapped my cane a few times._

_"But what?"_

_"Ah, if I knew that we wouldn't be missing it."_

_A nurse came by to let us know they were taking Nina to a room. "It'll take a half hour to settle her in. You can see her then. Room 324."_

_Jess smiled at the nurse. "Thank you." _

_Through the glass of the waiting room we could see paramedics bringing someone in, a young man with his arm in a sling._

_"Isn't that Julio?" Jess stood and went to the door just as Bertoli showed up. He was so intent on the gurney he didn't see her. "Mr. Bertoli, what happened to Julio?"_

_"He suddenly became very nauseous and dizzy."_

_"There's a lot of that going around," I muttered._

_Jess nodded. "I had similar symptoms earlier and my sister was just admitted after they treated her. We think we were all exposed to something in the gags they used on us."_

_"But you're alright?"_

_"I guess my exposure was less severe. I hope Julio will be OK."_

_Bertoli nodded. They'd taken the young man to be examined and wouldn't let him go further._

_"Come sit in here with us." I aimed my cane at an empty chair. Might as well use the opportunity to ask Bertoli some questions I had for him. "Have you been in this country long?"_

_His eyes studied my face. "Five, six years. Why?"_

_I shrugged. "Just curious. Your Engish is very good." I was silent for a full minute. "It's really good of you to be helping Julio the way you have been. Are you from the same town?"_

_He shook his head. "He's from Palermo, in Sicily. I'm from Bologna." At least he was being truthful._

_Wilson and Jess were watching us, not saying a word. They both knew my methods._

_"Really? Jess, isn't that where your family's from?"_

_She nodded._

_"Did you know any of the Giordano family back there?" I asked Bertoli._

_He shook his head. "Although it's a pretty common name. I might have."_

_"I guess it's a pretty big city."_

_"Yeah. Did you know there are two leaning towers in Bologna?"_

_I did, but feigned surprise. "Guess Pisa had a better PR person."_

_He laughed, then saw the doctor who'd taken Julio into a cubicle approaching the waiting room. He rose and met the doctor halfway. "How is he?"_

_"He was exposed to some kind of poison or toxin. We're running blood tests to find out what it is."_

_I'd joined them with Wilson and Jess close behind. "It's probably ethylene glycol. That's what Miss Giordano here was subjected to. Her sister's been admitted for ethylene glycol poisoning."_

_"Dr. House, isn't it?" The doctor nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."_


	94. Chapter 94

__Thank you all again for your wonderful comments, and for making this story a favorite. Happy New Year to you all.__

_**Chapter 94.**_

_The doctor left to order more specific tests on Julio and we returned to the waiting room._

_Bertoli had answered my questions frankly, but there were still a few things that bugged me. "Do you always show so much interest in your staff?"_

_"As a matter of fact, I do. But especially if they're immigrants the way I was just a few years ago." He looked through the glass. "Julio's a good kid. Listen, I know what you're thinking. He was sent here to avenge his cousin's death."_

_"You knew about that?" That was strange, since Julio said he wanted to keep it from his boss._

_Bertoli turned to me. "You think I'd hire someone without looking into their background?" He chuckled. "That's a good way to ruin a business."_

_"Why are you telling us?" Wilson was now curious._

_"Because I figure he told you, or at least the ladies." He nodded at Jess. "Anyway, I figured that once he was here in this country, he realized it wasn't the way to go. He's a bright kid. He can make something of himself, just needs some help, know what I mean?"_

_"So you offered to send him to school." I wanted to keep him talking._

_Bertoli smiled at us. "He told you that, too? Yeah, he had a head for math. I can use someone in the office that I can trust. I'm still hoping he'll work out."_

_"What about his family?" Jess asked. "They sent him here for a reason. What'll they do if he doesn't carry out his orders?"_

_"I'm beginning to think that this kidnapping wasn't ordered by the Locarnos but by his cousin's husband."_

_"Do you know the husband's name?" I hadn't even considered that possibility, but given the situation, it was as likely as any. "More to the point, does he own a garage or car dealership in New Jersey?"_

_Bertoli's eyes opened wide. "How did you know that?"_

_"He does?" Wilson was just as startled._

_A vigorous nod confirmed it. "His name's Molina. Carlo Molina. He's a big shot in Sicily, according to __my sources, but here? A small fish. He owns two car shops, one in Trenton and the other between there and Princeton. Custom paint jobs, detailing, that sort of thing. Mainly they work on Italian sports cars and luxury sedans."_

_I exchanged a glance with Jess. "We think that's where Julio and the women were held. They were poisoned by residues on the cloth used to gag them. I don't know why they'd be using bleach at a car shop, but the ethylene glycol that caused their problems is a common ingredient in antifreeze and brake fluid. If they used rags that had been washed but not completely, it would explain a lot."_

_Bertoli shrugged. "Could also be the car they used to grab them had a leak. It doesn't necessarily mean they were held at one of Molina's shops."_

_"True. But we don't have much more to go on." I tapped my cane a few times. "I'd like to take a look at the auto shops, especially the one closer to your restaurant."_

_Jess wasn't satisfied. "None of this explains why they let us go for such a small ransom, or even what they were trying to accomplish by kidnapping Julio." _

_"Do you have another explanation? A plan that'll get us more information?" I asked._

_She shook her head. "I want to go with you, see whether the place smells of bleach."_

_"Count me in." Wilson never looked more determined._

_"Me too." Bertoli grinned. _

_Jess looked at her watch. "But first I want to go see my sister. Wilson, are you coming with me?"_

_He nodded._

_"I'll be there in a minute." I still had a few questions for Bertoli and wanted to hear the answers without Jess or Wilson around. _

_Jess nodded at me and walked off with Wilson. _

_"What are you holding back?" I demanded._

_Bertoli blew out a breath. "You're sharp, you know that? Can't put anything past you. OK, seeing as how I think we're on the same side here, I can tell you that the Locarno family loaned me the money to start my restaurant. Oh, I've paid 'em back, but I still owe 'em one, you know what I mean? So when they heard that Carlo Molino was sending someone, I told 'em I'd handle it."_

_"That's why you hired Julio, and tried to redirect him." Some things were beginning to make more sense to me._

_"Yeah. Hey, it helped the Locarnos and it was the best for Julio, too. The only thing I worried about was that Molino would want to know why he didn't carry out his orders, and might retaliate."_

_I rubbed my chin. "Kidnapping him was a dumb move." _

_"It sure was." Bertoli swallowed. "See, I figure the kidnappers were told to rough him up a bit, but when they grabbed him, the two ladies were with him and they didn't know what to do, so they took the three of 'em somewhere while they checked with their boss about what to do next."_

_"And the only thing anyone could come up with was to ask for a ransom?" I snickered. "I would think Molino would be smarter than that."_

_Bertoli shrugged. "Maybe."_

_"Well, thanks for telling me. You going to hang around here until they decide what they have to do for the kid?" I stood._

_"Yeah. Like I said, he's a good kid. Deserves a break. I'd still like to give it to him."_

_I decided it was time to join Jess and Wilson. "I hope you can." I left him there and limped to the elevator. _

_When I arrived at Room 324, Nina was asleep and Jess and Wilson were talking in hushed tones. "How is she?"_

_"Resting comfortably," Wilson said. "They determined that her exposure wasn't enough to be very damaging, but she'll have to be monitored for a while. Her body has to rest a few days. I think they'll release her tomorrow."_

_Jess stared at me. "What did you ask Bertoli?" _

_"How did you know that's why I stayed?"_

_She rolled her eyes._

_Wilson grinned. "He was obviously keeping something back." Even he had noticed. So much for my thinking it was only me._

_I studied them both. "He's got connections to the Locarnos, and he explained why he thinks Molino was behind the kidnappings."_

_Jess scratched her head, then nodded it. "That makes some warped sense."_

_Wilson still looked puzzled. _

_"I'll explain later. For now, we still have to check out Molino's car shop, the one between Princeton and Trenton."_

_"What, tonight?" He sat down with a thud._

_"No time like the present." I rubbed my hands together._

_"It'll probably be closed."_

_"What better time to sneak in and have a look around?" I started for the door. "I'd like to do it while Bertoli's preoccupied with Julio."_

_Jess put a hand on Wilson's shoulder. "If you'd rather stay here and wait for Nina to wake up, we'll understand." _

_He glanced at the bed and shook his head. "She'll sleep for several hours now." He sighed and stood again. "Alright. Let's go."_

_We drove out to Old Trenton Road. I'd located the auto shop with my GPS. It wasn't that far away._

_The building was dark except for the street light outside. The parking lot was empty. As we got out of the car, Jess held up a hand, indicating we should be quiet for a minute. In the distance I heard a train whistle. There was a general hum of traffic noise on the busy road._

_She shook her head. "I can't be sure of anything."_

_"Didn't you say you heard a plane?_

_She nodded._

_"I think there's a regional airport not too far away." But we didn't hear the sound of any jets or even smaller planes. I started for the building, gravel crunching under my feet._

_"I forgot that!" Jess said. "That gravel sound. I guess that's common enough, though, huh?"_

_"I'd say most lots around here are paved."_

_The glass front door of the large one-story building was padlocked, not surprisingly. We walked around toward the back, but were stopped by a chain-link fence._

_"I'm surprised there's no guard watching the place." Wilson walked over to the fence gate to examine the lock. Immediately, a huge dog came running at him from the other side, barking and growling. Wilson backed away. "Now I know why." _

_"Jess, did you hear a dog at any time while you were being held?" _

_She shook her head. "I don't smell any bleach, either."_

_Through the fence we could see a large number of cars, some with tarps over parts of them. "They must do a good business." I walked back to the front of the building. _

_"Maybe we should come back when they're open." Wilson tugged at the lock without any result._

_"Why don't we come back with a car that we want detailed," Jess suggested._

_The question was whose car. I doubted they'd work on my old beauty, and there was nothing they could do to Wilson's Volvo that would make it cooler. I smiled at her. "We should bring in your sports car."_

_But she shook her head, a gleam in her eyes. "Nina's BMW would be better."_

_She was right. _

_"Do you think anyone will recognize Jess?" Wilson asked. _

_"I can take care of that," she said. "A little makeup, a change in hairstyle and clothes. If any of the kidnappers are around, they'll never know I'm the same person."_

_So, with that plan in mind, we returned to Princeton._

__I should be able to post one more chapter before I leave on a short trip at the end of the week.__


	95. Chapter 95

__We're going out of town tomorrow morning, so I'm posting this tonight. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter. It's only partly written.__

__You're the best! Thanks for reading and for commenting.__

_**Chapter 95.**_

_The next morning, we met Wilson at Nina's apartment so we could get the car. She'd agreed that we could use it in our investigation._

_"I stopped to see Nina this morning. She says she feels much better and can't wait to leave the hospital." He was smiling. "I'll bring her home this afternoon."_

_"Before we go, I'll need to do a little cosmetic surgery on myself." Jess grinned at us as she took her shoulder bag with her into the bathroom. When she came out, I might have had a hard time recognizing her. She wore a blond wig, much shorter than her own hair, and lots of eye make-up behind round tortoise-shell glasses. Somehow, she'd made her nose seem smaller and her lips fuller. She still looked good._

_"Where'd you learn to do that?"_

_She smirked. "That's my trade secret."_

_Jess dangled the keys to her sister's car in her right hand. "Let's go, boys."_

_The car was parked in the garage under the building. I'd only been in the BMW once before, when we'd driven into the Poconos looking for Petey. It seemed like an eon ago. I grabbed the keys out of Jess' hand. "I'm driving." It might be the only time I'd get to drive a car this classy._

_Wilson looked it over before he got in the back seat, allowing Jess to ride shotgun. "There's not much you can ask them to do to this, you know. It's already spiffy."_

_"What kind of word is 'spiffy'?" I turned the key and the car purred. I smiled to myself as I drove it out of the garage into the street. _

_"I've been thinking about what we should be asking them to do." Jess turned to look at Wilson. "After all, we're not going to have the work done, just asking for an estimate."_

_"So?" I practically heard his eyebrows go up._

_"How about a stripe down the side?"_

_"No one puts a stripe on the side of a BMW, unless it's one of those concept cars," he objected. "Certainly not a sedan like this."_

_I let them hash that out, although I had my own ideas._

_"Well, then, how about adding a moon roof?" Jess suggested._

_"Now you're talking." He sounded enthusiastic. "Nina was actually talking about putting one in."_

_"She was?"_

_At this time of day, the parking lot at the car place was pretty full. The gate on the back fence was open and people were walking in and out. No sign of Fido. Guess he only got the night gig._

_"Should all three of us go into the office?" Wilson asked._

_"Why don't you and Jess go in. I'll have a look around." I was as curious as they were about what they would find in the office, but I was more curious about the kind of work the company did. I watched a few people go through the gate to the back lot, then walked through just behind a well-heeled couple who'd pulled up in a Spitfire._

_The vehicles on this side of the fence ranged from brand new sports cars to performance cars to a few luxury sedans of various vintages. The bay doors to a vast garage were open and inside several men, and a couple of women, were working on the inside and outside of a half dozen cars._

_The couple I'd followed stopped when they reached a short but stocky man with a thick head of black hair and a large mustache to match. He held out a hand first to the man and then to the woman. "Mr. and Mrs. Mancuso. Glad to see you again. What can we do for you this time?"_

_Once I was sure they were there to have work done on a car, I moved away, slipping into the garage. Immediately, the sweet smell of turpentine one young man was using to clean some equipment engulfed me. Many of the workers had masks on as they sprayed primers and such, so they probably weren't aware of it. The turpentine and lacquers almost masked the bleach smell, but it was there, faint and distinctive._

_It was a pleasure to be out in the fresh air again. And they say the smells of disinfectant in a hospital are bad! I made my way back to the front lot just as Jess and Wilson came out of the office._

_Wilson shook his head. "I should have gone into the auto detailing business. They must be raking it in. At the rates they charge, I'd be making a forture."_

_"I only got a brief whiff of bleach in there," Jess said. _

_I nodded. "It was slight in the garage, too, mainly because of the other odors."_

_"So, was this the place or not?" Wilson asked._

_Jess looked back at the building with narrowed eyes. "I can't be sure, but I think so. But now, what do we do about it?"_

_"Good question. Maybe we won't do anything just yet, aside from telling Julio and Bertoli." I opened __the car door, then slammed it closed without getting in. "There's something we can do." I limped to the office door without waiting for Wilson and Jess. There were several customers, so the three salesmen were occupied. I walked around the place, examining the pictures and price lists on the walls. There was no indication that the Molino family owned the business, but there were large posters from various places in Italy. The people in the pictures were salesmen and customers, admiring the work on an assortment of cars. _

_One picture caught my eye. A young man in it looked very familiar. I turned to see whether Jess had followed me in. She was on the other side of the room and I beckoned her over. "Look at this picture and tell me that isn't who I think it is."_

_She looked closely, her eyes widening and her mouth turning down. "It can't be! What would he be doing here?"_

_I shrugged. "Molino sent him here from Sicily, so I guess it isn't surprising that he'd visit one of his businesses."_

_She stared at the picture. "But from this photo, it looks more like he was working here as a salesman."_

_"It does, doesn't it? So what would make Julio decide to leave and go to work in a restaurant? Did Bertoli lure him in some way?"_

_She rubbed her chin with her thumb. "I've been thinking that he was using his job with Bertoli as a way to get close to the Locarnos."_

_"But the connection between Bertoli and the Locarnos isn't well-known."_

_"True."_

_Wilson came over to see what we were talking about. I pointed to the photo on the wall. He looked carefully at it, then his eyes widened as ours had when we realized what we were looking at._

_"I think it's time we had a little talk with Julio, preferably without Bertoli in the room." I started for the door._

_A salesman stood in our way. "Did you change your mind? I can assure you we'll do a great job on your car. It'll be well worth the money."_

_"We still have to think about it," Wilson replied. He pointed to me. "My friend here says he worked with another salesman a while back. Young guy, named Gian-Carlo or something."_

_For once I corrected him. "Julio."_

_"Oh, Julio. He's been gone quite some time. He never said why he was leaving, and the boss was pretty upset." _

_Jess frowned. "He didn't give notice, just upped and left? That's awful." _

_He responded to her sympathetic tone. "I'll say. Left us short-staffed, too."_

_Wilson nodded. "Bet that's why the boss didn't like it."_

_"Well, that and the fact that he was family. Mr. Locarno sent him over from Sicily special, like, you know? You'd think he'd be grateful, but no, off he went and never even called."_

_I shook my head and tsk-tsked, but that was all the guy was willing to tell us. "You seem like a nice fella. We'll definitely think about having the work done."_

_He handed me a card. "Just ask for Tony. I'll be happy to set something up."_

_We thanked him and left. We were each wrapped up in our own thoughts on the way back to Princeton. The hospital was in view when Wilson asked, "Which of us should tackle Julio?"_

_That was part of what I'd been thinking about. Jess probably had, too, because she said, "I think he knows me best. We shared a traumatic experience and he might open up to me if I play this right."_

_I nodded. _

_Wilson got out of the car first when I parked it in the visitor's lot. "Then I'll go see whether Nina's ready to go home." _

_"If she's not, you can buy me lunch." I tossed him her keys._

_"Even if she is, somehow I would have wound up doing that." _

_We entered the hospital together, only to find Bertoli and Uncle Johnny deep in conversation in the lobby. _


	96. Chapter 96

__I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. As you know we were out of town. I've also been fighting a respiratory problem.__

__Thanks for your patience and for reading and for commenting.__

_**Chapter 96**_

_Jess' uncle noticed us first when Wilson, Jess and I arrived. "Where've you three been?" He pulled Jess into a hug, then held out a hand to me._

_I shook it, although I'm not usually a hand-shaker. "If you tell us why you're here, we might actually tell you." _

_He laughed but looked at Jess, no doubt wondering whether to take me seriously. "I came to see Nina and ran into Bertoli here."_

_"I was just about to find out if her doctor is ready to release her." Wilson said._

_Johnny nodded. "She seems to be anxious to get home."_

_"But how did you know she was here?" I was just about to ask that, but Jess beat me to it._

_"She called to say she was definitely going ahead with the catering business." Johnny smiled. "Seems she called all of the restaurants she contracted with."_

_Jess smiled. "How's Julio?" she asked Bertoli._

_"Resting comfortably, but they still don't know whether he'll recover completely."_

_"Maybe I'd better check on him." I needed an excuse to go see him._

_Bertoli nodded. "I would like your opinion, Doctor."_

_Wilson and I left Jess with the two men and walked to the elevators. Nina and Julio's rooms were both on three, so we rode up together._

_"What are you going to ask him?" Wilson asked._

_"I'm not sure yet. Depends what he says when I bring up the car shop."_

_"I thought you were going to have Jess tackle him, play on the connection as co-abductees."_

_"I think she'll do more good talking to her uncle and Bertoli."_

_Wilson's eyes narrowed._

_"Both of them know something more, something they haven't shared with us yet. They may not even __realize how important their information is, but Jess will ferret it out."_

_"I hope so. I don't want Nina starting a business without knowing what she may be getting involved in, even tangentially."_

_"You've got it bad for her, haven't you? She's not your typical needy woman, despite what happened to her this week." I studied his face._

_He smiled. "I could say something similar about you and Jess. They've had an odd life, and they're both just beginning to realize that there's more out there for them than what their father wanted. I'm still surprised that you picked Jess."_

_I couldn't tell him how it surprised me, too, or how glad I was that I did._

_We got off the elevator and he headed for Nina's room. I turned the other way. Julio was alone this time. I guess Bertoli was his only visitor, and Bertoli was still down in the lobby._

_I slid the door open and stepped inside._

_"Dr. House, what are you doing here? Where's Jess?"_

_"She'll join me in a little while. She's talking to her uncle and your boss." I studied his face as I continued. "Bertoli's been really good to you."_

_"Yes he has." His face was surprisingly expressionless._

_"How come you wound up working for him? Didn't you have a job with your cousin's husband's company?" _

_That got his attention. "How'd you know that?"_

_I shrugged. "I just assumed he made sure you had employment while you were carrying out his orders against the Locarnos."_

_"Yeah, well, I did work at his auto detailing shop."_

_"So, was it your idea or Bertoli's that you go to work at the restaurant instead?" I knew the answer but wondered how he viewed it._

_"Mr. Bertoli brought his car into the shop some months ago, and I helped him arrange the work. We talked much and I learned he needed staff at his new restaurant." He smiled. "See, my family, we have two restaurants in Palermo. I grew up working in them. I couldn't resist."_

_"Did you know that Bertoli had connections to the Locarnos?"_

_His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "No he doesn't."_

_"He told me about it. They helped him start his business. He claims they aren't involved in the restaurant, but don't you think it's a mighty strange coincidence?" I wasn't going to tell him outright that Bertoli hired him to keep him from going after the Locarnos._

_"You think he approached me because he knew why I was sent to this country?" The kid was sharp._

_"It's possible."_

_Julio rubbed the lower part of his face. It seemed obvious he hadn't known, that it wasn't a part of a plan for him to get closer to the Locarnos. "I don't understand why he'd even admit to knowing them."_

_"He wanted to convince me that they weren't behind the kidnapping."_

_"But then, who was? No, it had to be them."_

_"Perhaps Carlo Molino was disappointed that you hadn't fulfilled your mission."_

_"But when I reported to Carlo that I was still working on it, he told me to take my time." Julio was still having a hard time adjusting his beliefs about what happened._

_"How sure are you that it was the Locarnos who killed your cousin?"_

_"What? Carlo said it was certain." He shrugged. "Who else but his enemy would do such a thing? Francesca was such a sweet girl."_

_"And she left him."_

_"Well, yes. But he was sure she'd come back before long."_

_"That may be what he told you, but you only have his word on any of this."_

_His eyes narrowed. "You think he was lying to me?"_

_"Everybody lies."_

_"But why would Carlo have me kidnapped?" Julio frowned. "Did he think I betrayed him? Did he want to scare me into doing what I was sent here to do?"_

_"Julio, do you trust him more than Bertoli?"_

_"Mr. Bertoli is the best boss I've ever had." He blinked._

_"You couldn't have had very many." I knew he was in his early twenties. "Julio, you asked us to keep quiet about why you came to this country, but Bertoli knew all about it."_

_"So you're telling me I can't believe Carlo or Mr. Bertoli?" He shook his head as if to clear it. "I don't know what to think anymore."_

_"Just keep an open mind about both of them. We can't know who's the bad guy here, but we can find out."_

_"We can? How?"_

_I decided it was time to come clean. "Bertoli told me that he purposely hired you as a favor to the Locarnos. He was pretty honest about it. Maybe he knows something about your cousin's death that we don't know."_

_Julio nodded thoughtfully. _

_"We're also almost certain that the place you, Jess and Nina were held was Molin's auto shop."_

_"It did smell somehow familiar."_

_"What do they use bleach for there?"_

_"Bleach?" He scratched the back of his head. "The only time I saw anyone use bleach there was when they were working on the inside of a car. There were blood stains on one of the seats, and it was the only way they could get them out. Then they redyed the fabric."_

_"Blood stains, huh?" That was always a possibility, but I hadn't wanted to think it. I'd seen no signs of blood anywhere in the shop. Knowing that they commonly used bleach to remove them, put a new light on the situation._

_Julio shook his head. "I can't believe that Carlo's people were behind the kidnapping."_

_"Jess was pretty sure that it was the place you were taken. The only thing she didn't hear was the train whistle."_

_"The train whistle!" His eyes went wide. "How could I forget? Trains came through nearby every day at regular times. I don't know why I didn't think of it when we were being held! But she's right."_

_"So, now you believe that's where you were taken?"_

_"I guess so. But I still don't understand why, or why we were set free."_

_"We've gone round and round on that. I suppose the motives would be different depending on who was behind it, but it's still strange that they'd let you go for such a small ransom."_

_We both turned to the door as Jess slid it open._

_Julio smiled at her. "We were just talking about the car shop. I think you're right. That's where we were held."_

_"Have either of you come up with a motive?" she asked._

_I shook my head. "Actually, we were talking more about why you were let go."_

_"It's obvious the original intent wasn't to extort money from anyone. That was just to give them an excuse to release us." She came closer to the bed. "How are you feeling today, Julio?"_

_"Much better. The treatments, I think, are working. How is your sister?"_

_"She's recovering, too." She turned to me. "Bertoli told me something very interesting, something that may have bearing on who kidnapped us."_

_"What did he say?"_

_"When Julio came to work for him, he told the Locarnos. The head of the family, Tony, was very pleased, but his oldest son, Marcello, thought it would cause more friction between the families, even though there was no visible connection between Bertoli and the Locarnos."_

_"So there was dissension in the ranks. But haven't we established that you were held at Carlo's car shop?"_

_"That's just it. Bertoli thinks it might have been retaliation against him, rather than an attack on Julio."_

_I shook my head to clear it. This was convoluted to begin with, but each piece of information we got made it more so. Give me a clear-cut medical mystery over this, not that I wasn't enjoying the challenge of unraveling all the threads._

_"I need a whiteboard to work this out logically." I limped out of the room and headed for my conference room, oblivious to whether Jess was following. The room was empty, and so was the board. I grabbed a marker and started to list all of the players in this drama, including Jess and Nina. Drawing lines to show the connections between them all created a mess, but it also helped me. Next, I tried to list events chronologically._

_We've never asked Julio what Carlo expected him to do to the Locarnos or which of them they thought was responsible for Francesca's death._

_I was startled by Jess voice, but her comments helped. "We don't know exactly why Francesca left Carlo." I added those questions to the board, then stepped back to study it. We were still a long way from finding out why Julio was kidnapped, and Jess and Nina along with him._


	97. Chapter 97

__As Chase says in this chapter, the interconnections in this case are beginning to resemble a bowl of spaghetti. But we know House won't give up until he's solved it.__

__Thanks for being such loyal readers. I love your comments.__

_**Chapter 97.**_

_The more questions I added to the whiteboard, the more I realized how little we knew about Julio, Molino, the Locarnos and Bertoli._

_"Did you learn anything from your uncle?" I asked Jess. _

_She sat at the conference room table, staring at the board, her face scrunched up in concentration. "Nothing new. He knows very little about the Locarnos or Molino. Of course, he couldn't say much with Bertoli standing there." She looked at the board again. "I'm not sure whether this is getting us any closer to answers." She stood. "I'm going to see my sister before Wilson takes her home, but I'll be back."_

_I nodded, but thought we were closer to a solution than before. At least we knew what we didn't know. I wondered if there was anyone who could tell me something about Francesca's death. I didn't know how she died, only that it happened in New Jersey._

_Before I could head for my office to do a search, Chase entered. He glanced at the whiteboard and frowned. "What's this?"_

_"You heard about the kidnapping and Jess and Nina's illness?"_

_"Sure. It's all over the hospital. So, now you're playing detective?"_

_I shrugged. "Why not? Isn't that what I always do?" I splayed my fingers out on the table. "The cops aren't pursuing the case. They're happy that they were returned, and don't seem to care why they were taken in the first place."_

_"Jess and Nina are OK now, aren't they?"_

_"Yes. And the young man they were with is also recovering. Everyone thinks he was the intended victim here, and that taking Jess and Nina was an unplanned consequence."_

_"And you don't?" He'd learned to do that one eyebrow thing finally._

_"I don't know. But the motivation for taking Julio is muddy and even more so is the fact that they were all released for a piddling ransom."_

_"So, what are you doing about it?" Chase's eyes lit with interest._

_"Talking to Julio, his boss, investigating their background, and this." I pointed to the board._

_"It looks like a bowl of spaghetti."_

_"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" I scratched my head. "Considering that Bertoli's restaurant sells fondu, not Italian food..."_

_"House?"_

_My eyes narrowed. "Julio said he went to work for him because he'd worked in his family's restaurants in Italy, but I doubt they served fondu."_

_Chase shrugged. "A restaurant is a restaurant. They all operate pretty much the same way." _

_"Up to a point." I nodded. "And probably closer than a restaurant to a car shop."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Julio worked at a car shop before Bertoli hired him."_

_He walked closer to the whiteboard and read some of the items that weren't completely obliterated by the connecting lines. "Who's Francesca?"_

_"Julio's cousin. She ran away from her husband in Italy, but was killed here. Julio was sent to...well, to retaliate in some way. Sent by her cousin's husband." I pointed to the name on the board. "Carlo Molino. He owns the car shop where Julio worked." _

_"And this name, Locarno? Seems to me I've seen that name before."_

_"You have?" My eyes opened wide in surprise. I hadn't heard of them until just a day or two earlier._

_Chase nodded. "I don't remember where, but it'll come to me. I only have an impression of a good connotation." He shrugged. "I'll let you know. Meanwhile, is there anything else I can do to help?"_

_"Look at the board again, and see if there are any other familiar names."_

_Studying the cluttered surface, Chase shook his head. "That's the only one that jumps out at me."_

_I blew out a breath and continued on to my office, still intent on finding out all I could about Francesca Molino's death._

_The obituary was brief and details were scarce. She was twenty-five, died on June eighteenth with no cause of death given, and she was a native of Palermo, Italy, the daughter of Luigi and Maria Curci and the wife of Carlo Molino. I already knew most of that. Curci was Julio's surname, so he was related on her father's side. Big deal. Not any help._

_Next I tried the newspapers for the day of her death, but there was no reports of an accident or murder that would match. I even went forward a few days. Nothing. The only one who might give me a lead __was Julio. He might also tell me what Carlo expected him to do to the Locarnos._

_Chase's remark about having heard of them before was stuck in my head. I'd done a search on the name before, but mostly in terms of business and mob connections. It might be worth a shot to do a more general search._

_It didn't take me long. Why hadn't I made the connection to the name? It had been in the papers for weeks the previous fall. The Locarno family had been big supporters of a state senatorial candidate, and when he won election he'd persuaded the governor to reward them with a large contract for managing several badly needed construction projects. Try as they might to prove that the family made a huge profit from the deal, the news media and the opposing party hadn't proven a thing. They were on the up-and-up, true citizens of the state. A recent article even praised them for their help in getting some communities up and running after the megastorm._

_In fact, everything that I found out about the family, especially the patriarch, indicated that he was an admirable man, well-respected, with no real mob-connections. All of his businesses were legit._

_So why did Carlo consider them rivals? They weren't in the same class. The Locarnos had been in New Jersey for over a hundred years. They'd come from northern Italy, not Sicily. What was Carlo Molino's beef with them? I shook my head in wonder at what motivated people to do what they did._

_I also looked for any connections between the Locarnos and Carlo's wife, Francesca. There were no traces of any. That didn't necessarily mean that they didn't exist, but it seemed mighty strange._

_Again, I thought that Julio might have more answers than he knew. I'd wait until later in the day and tackle the young immigrant again._

_I leaned back in my desk chair with my hands behind my head and closed my eyes, not so much to think as to concentrate on what else I could do, what other avenues I could explore. I was missing more than one thing this time. _

_A knock at my door pulled me from my swirling thoughts. I slowly opened my eyes and focused them on the figure in the doorway. Johnny Giordano. I smiled. Jess hadn't been able to find out much from her uncle when we arrived back at the hospital earlier because she didn't want to ask too many questions with Bertoli listening, but I had a feeling I'd have my own chance to pick his brain._

_"Welcome to my den of iniquity." A grin accompanied my quip._

_He nodded and entered. "Dr. House. I'd hoped I'd find you here and alone."_

_I raised an eyebrow to encourage him to continue. "Have a seat."_

_He looked around and decided the arm chair at my desk would do. "I'm sure you know I have my nieces' welfare at heart."_

_"Now that you've met them finally, I can see that they've impressed you with their...shall we say abilities?"_

_Johnny nodded. "This entire business with Bertoli, Julio, the Locarnos, and Molino..." He shook his head. "I'll do anything to prevent any of their problems from affecting Jess and Nina."_

_"Of course. Frankly, I'm beginning to wonder what Molino had against the Locarnos and what he sent Julio here to do." I studied him. "It seems very odd to me. There's no apparent connection between them. I haven't even found one between the Locarnos and Molino's dead wife."_

_"And yet, he felt the need to send the young man all this way to exact some kind of revenge." Johnny nodded again. "Yes, that is very strange indeed."_

_"You know nothing about either family?"_

_"No, nothing beyond what I read in the papers about the Locarnos. They seem to be quite a respectable family."_

_"I'm planning to talk to Julio again later today to find out what he knows about his cousin's death and what Molino wanted him to do."_

_"Would you mind if I came with you? I'd like a word or two with the young man myself."_

_"Really?"_

_Johnny smiled. "From Bertoli's praise of him, I might have a place in my own business for him, something even more promising for the future than working in a fondu place and attending night school."_

_"Uncle Johnny, what are you doing here?" Jess came through the door and smiled at her uncle._

_"Oh, just having a word with the good doctor. How is Nina?"_

_"Much better. Wilson is taking her home and will stay with her while she settles in there." She turned to me. "I told them we'd bring dinner by later."_

_I nodded. "But not until we talk to Julio again. It seems that your uncle and I both have some things to discuss with him."_

_She grinned. "Me too."_


	98. Chapter 98

__One or two more wrinkles to add to the mystery, and still House hasn't solved it. Still, I think after this it can't be much longer before he finds the single thread that will lead him back through the maze to the source of everything that's happened.__

__As always, I'm happy to see new and 'old' readers enjoying my story.__

_**Chapter 98.**_

_The three of us descended on Julio's room late that afternoon, each with our own questions for the young man. I hoped I would be able to ask one that would trigger a revelation that would open up this tangled web of interconnecting people and events. It didn't even have to be one of my own questions. Maybe Uncle Johnny or Jess would have a perspective that would finally send us in the right direction._

_Julio smiled when he saw us. Jess and I had been his only visitors besides Bertoli. He didn't know Johnny as well, but the man's commanding and yet pleasant manner tended to put people at ease. It was no wonder he'd become so successful without the need of mob connections._

_I started the interrogation, making a decided effort to keep my tone non-accusing. "Julio, we've been wondering about Francesca. Did she have any known connection to the Locarnos before she arrived in New Jersey?"_

_I don't think he expected the question, because he paused to think about it before answering. "No, none of us did."_

_"So she met them here?"_

_His eyes narrowed. "I guess so. Carlo said they were responsible for her death, but he never said anything about which members of the family she knew."_

_"How did he know they were connected to her death? Wasn't it an accident?" Jess asked._

_"No." His face clouded over and he frowned. "She was abducted on her way home from work one night, like we were. The next morning her body was discovered in an alley. Death by natural causes, they said. But Carlo knew better." Julio nodded gravely. He still believed Molino had been telling him the truth. "I guess that's one of the reasons I was so frightened when we were taken."_

_"But why the Locarnos? What did they have to do with anything?" Johnny didn't hide his skepticism. "If there was no connection to the family, how did their name even come up? There are millions of people of Italian descent in this area of the country."_

_Carlo blinked a few times, then he shrugged. "I dunno. All Carlo said was the Locarnos were responsible, and had to be dealt with."_

_"Dealt with how?" I demanded. We needed answers and we needed them fast. I was through playing nice with the kid. "What were you supposed to do?"_

_Julio's face had been pale before, due to everything he'd been through, but now it turned the shade of a blank piece of printer paper. He swallowed and in a faint voice said, "Sabotage one of their businesses, and plant evidence that they were cheating on the contracts they had with the state."_

_"Alone? You were going to do all that by yourself?" I kept my eyes from rolling but it was a struggle._

_He shook his head. "A couple of Carlo's guys were supposed to help me, but they'd taken off by the time I got to Jersey."_

_"Taken off where?"_

_"I don't know. The other guys at the shop said they'd left the week before on vacation and never came back. I never found out what happened to them. None of the others at the shop were supposed to be involved. That's why I hesitated about doing anything. And then I met Tina."_

_"Tina?" Jess shook her head to clear it. "Wait, who's Tina?"_

_"Tina Locarno. The granddaughter of the head of the family. We, um, met at the movies."_

_Was this the piece I was missing? Julio's motivation to avoid what he'd been sent to do? But he'd never mentioned her before, and she certainly hadn't visited him in the hospital. "OK, take it from the beginning. You met her at the movies and...?"_

_"I didn't know who she was. I mean, she may have mentioned her last name, but I don't think so. It wasn't until a week or so later that I learned she was a member of the family."_

_"And by then you'd fallen for her," Jess guessed._

_"What? No. We were just friends. Still are, I guess. She's a nice kid, but just a kid." Like he was so old!_

_This time I rolled my eyes. Whenever I thought we were getting somewhere, it turned out to be nothing. "So you met Tina and the two of you became friends, but there was nothing romantic between you. Still, it was another reason for not carrying out Carlo's orders."_

_Julio hesitated, but then nodded. "I didn't really want to in the first place. I'm not a bad guy."_

_"Of course you're not!" Jess smiled at him._

_"And the things Tina told me about her family made me realize they weren't bad guys either. I was confused. I still believed what Carlo said, that they'd caused Francesca's death, but I refused to do anything until I knew more, and then I met Mr. Bertoli and got the job with him and, well, here I am."_

_"Confused as ever."_

_"Yes."_

_"Julio, there's no evidence of any connections between the Locarnos and your cousin's death, you do __understand that?" Maybe if I repeated it enough it would get through to him, and he'd realize Carlo had lied._

_"I...I guess. But why would Carlo say there was if there wasn't? Why would he send me after them?"_

_"That is the sixty-four million dollar question."_

_"Did Tina know who Molino is?" Jess asked. I'm glad she thought of that, because it wasn't something I would have._

_Julio shook his head. "It never came up."_

_"You never talked to her about Francesca?"_

_"Yes, of course I did, but I don't think I ever mentioned her last name, just that Francesca would have liked her."_

_"Why's that?"_

_He shrugged. "I guess because they were both interested in art and music. Poetry, too. I have a poem and picture back at my place that Tina gave me, and it reminded me of a drawing Francesca made of the garden behind our house back in Sicily."_

_"So, not just the creative aspect, but also the subject matter," Jess said._

_"Yeah, I guess so."_

_"And you're still friends with her?"_

_"Tina? Sure. But I haven't heard from her the past few days."_

_"Did you check you phone?"_

_"What? No. I guess not." His face brightened. "Maybe she sent me a message or a text. What happened to my phone?"_

_"Maybe Bertoli has it," Jess suggested._

_"Where is he?" I asked._

_"He went back to his restaurant. I'll give him a call." Johnny walked over to the window and took out his own phone. He and Bertoli had obviously developed somewhat of a friendship out of all of this._

_Meanwhile, I rummaged in the bag of Julio's things, but all I found were his clothes and a well-worn wallet containing a driver's license, a couple of credit cards and no cash. There was a set of keys, a wadded up tissue, and nothing else._

_"Could you have left your phone home when they brought you into the hospital?" Jess asked._

_He didn't answer right away. "I had it on the charger. Usually I grab it on my way out the door."_

_"Except you were carried out by the paramedics, right?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"So, maybe it's back at your place." I jingled the keys. "These your keys?" We'd already broken into his place when he was missing, but why bother when I had keys? "Jess and I can go retrieve your phone."_

_"Would you?" He was such an innocent._

_"Of course. We'll go in a little while and bring it back with us." After we listened to any messages on it, of course, but he didn't have to know that._

_Johnny returned to the bedside. "Bertoli has no idea where his phone is." _

_"We think it might be back at Julio's apartment on the charger."_

_"That would make sense."_

_"Did you want to stay here with him while we go look?" Jess asked her uncle. She knew as well as I did that Johnny wanted to talk to Julio and this would give him an opportunity to do that without anyone listening in._

_"Of course. And when you return, you'll join me at my restaurant for dinner."_

_I nodded. "I never pass up a free meal."_

_Johnny chuckled. "Who said anything about it being free?" He turned to the patient. "If you'd like, I can have someone send over some food for you, too."_

_"Anything's better than hospital food." Julio grinned._

_We left them, intent on getting to Julio's quickly, not that there was any urgency in getting his phone, but the sooner we did that, the sooner we could have dinner. Besides, my curiosity was aroused about the young woman Julio claimed was 'just a friend', but one who could be the key to lots of what was going on._

_As we drove to Julio's apartment, Jess seemed very thoughtful. Just before we arrived she broke the silence. "Carlo Molino's antagonism to the Locarnos must be based on something. Maybe Tina's a link but I think we have to continue to search for a connection, however tenuous, between the two families."_

_"Maybe it's not a direct connection, maybe there's some mutual friend, or more likely a friend of one who's an enemy of the other." I glanced her way to see her nodding._

_"Someone has to know. That someone is obviously not Julio."_

_"Even Bertoli hasn't been able to come up with anything."_

_She rubbed her cheek. "I'm surprised he didn't know about Tina."_

_"Perhaps he did." An idea was forming in my brain, but it was nebulous at best. I pulled up in front of Julio's building. Maybe something in his apartment would make it clearer._


	99. Chapter 99

__House and Jess are still trying to find a connection between the Molino and Locarno families. Does Julio's friend Tina hold the key?__

__As always, I'm happy to see new and 'old' readers enjoying my story. Thanks for reading and for your comments.__

_Chapter 99._

_I used Julio's key this time. The inside of the studio apartment hadn't changed, not that I expected it to. His phone was sitting in the charger on the kitchen counter._

_"Well, that's a relief," Jess said._

_It was flashing and I hit the button to reveal there were a dozen phone and text messages and another fifteen emails. I started to go through them._

_"Greg, that's Julio's private correspondence!"_

_"And your point is? How are we going to learn anything if I don't check these out?"_

_Jess grimaced, but walked away and began rifling through some papers on a table next to the bed. She had to be as curious as I was about what we might find._

_Many of the messages were friends wanting to know where Julio was, worried that they couldn't reach him. I looked for any from Tina or from Carlo Molino. There were two from the girl, similar to the ones from his other friends, without any real information. _

_I finally found a voicemail from Molino, in Italian. It started the same way as the others, where was Julio and why didn't he answer his phone, yada yada yada. But then Molino demanded that Julio complete the assignment he'd been given, and warned him that if he didn't, he'd be sorry. If the message had been sent before the abduction, I would have thought there was a connection. As it was, I wondered once more whether it was the Locarnos or Molino who'd ordered it. The fact that Jess, Nina and Julio were probably held at the auto shop would point to the latter._

_"Greg, look at this." Suzy brought me a couple of photographs. One showed Julio with a pretty girl in her late teens. They were grinning at the camera. In a second picture of the two of them, they both had their eyes crossed, mugging for the photographer. There was a photo of a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and eyes in an elaborate wedding gown, most likely Julio's cousin Francesca. The rest showed assorted other people, with or without Julio. I assumed the middle-aged couple with him in one or two were his parents._

_"Family means a lot to him," Jess said. _

_"I wonder whether his mother and father know why Molino sent him here."_

_She pointed to the phone in my hands. "Did you find anything among his messages?"_

_"Only that Molino's not a happy camper." I looked around the small place. "I guess we're through here."_

_She nodded and started to put the photographs back._

_"Maybe he'd like to have those with him in the hospital."_

_"He won't be there much longer, will he?"_

_"Probably not."_

_She put the photos back in the drawer and we left. As we walked outside, I saw a girl looking up at Julio's windows, the same girl as in the photographs._

_I approached her. "Tina?"_

_She was startled. "Who are you?"_

_"We're friends of Julio's," Jess told her. "I'm Jess, and this is Greg."_

_"Have you seen him? Do you know where he is? I haven't been able to reach him! We were supposed to go for pizza and a movie last night."_

_"Julio's had a bad couple of days. He's in the hospital." An idea occurred to me. "We were on our way over there. Why don't you come with us?"_

_"Oh! Could I?" She frowned. "What's wrong with him?"_

_Rather than answer, Jess asked, "When did you speak to him last?" _

_"Yesterday. He told me he'd been abducted but was home again. Is it true? Did you know about it?"_

_Jess nodded. "I was with him. They took us outside the Melting Pot, Julio, my sister and me. The gags they used on us had some chemicals in them that made us all sick, but luckily none of us got a dose that caused permanent damage."_

_"Oh! That's a relief!"_

_"He'll probably be ready to go home by tomorrow morning," I added, winning a smile from the girl. I opened the car doors and Jess started to get into the passenger seat. "You can get in the back," I told Tina._

_She nodded. A trusting soul. _

_As we drove back to the hospital I let Jess steer the conversation, knowing she was just as curious about Tina as I was. "Julio told us your grandfather is Anthony Locarno."_

_"Yes, yes he is. I was surprised that Julio knew about him, but he seemed impressed." In the rearview mirror I saw her shrug. "To me he's just Nonno."_

_"Your family is very civic-minded and well respected. They came from northern Italy originally, didn't they?" Jess kept the conversation going._

_"Yes. There are very few relatives left there, though. I guess I'm a typical third-generation Italian-American."_

_Jess nodded. "Me, too. Well, I'm more like second-generation. My family, the Giordanos, are from Bologna."_

_ "To tell you the truth, I've never been to Italy, don't even know much Italian. But Julio and I talked about going some day. I know he wants to return to Sicily, at least to visit his parents. But he likes it here."_

_"Your family and his don't have any connections, do they?"_

_"None. I guess your family and mine don't either."_

_"I don't know of any." Jess pressed her lips together in thought. "You never met Julio's cousin."_

_"Francesca? No. He told me about her. So sad!"_

_"So, no one else ever mentioned the name Francesca Molino to you?"_

_"Molino? I didn't even now her last name." Tina shook her head. "No, and I don't know anyone named Molino."_

_A thought occurred to me. "Tina, did you ever take a car to the shop where Julio used to work before he got the job at the restaurant? It's an auto detailing shop. They do customizing and painting."_

_Again she shook her head. "I don't think so. My brothers and my uncle are the ones into fancy cars and that sort of thing."_

_"Your Uncle Marcello?" Jess asked. I'd told her what I'd read about the family. She has a much better memory for names than I do._

_"Why, yes. How did you know?" Tina sounded surprised._

_"How do we get in touch with him?"_

_"Why would you want to?"_

_"Tina, we're looking for a connection, any connection between your family and Julio's," Jess explained. "If your uncle was a customer at that shop, he may have had contact with Carlo Molino, Francesca's husband."_

_"Uncle Marcello works in downtown Trenton, at the family's real estate office. He's a lawyer, too. You can probably reach him there."_

_We'd arrived at the hospital. I parked and the three of us headed for Julio's room. I wasn't surprised when his face lit up the minute he saw Tina with us. Having her there in the flesh was even better than a message on his phone._

_"Look what we found hanging around your place," I quipped, but I don't think he even heard me._

_Tina went straight to the bed and took his hand. "Julio, they told me what happened to you. I'm so sorry. How are you feeling? I've been so worried, especially after what you told me about the kidnapping. And then you didn't show up last night."_

_"I'm fine, Tina. Feeling much better." He grinned at her. "I'm sorry I missed last night. Maybe after I get outta here, OK?"_

_"Sure. Any time. You know that."_

_Julio looked past her to me. "Doctor, I can go home soon, can't I?"_

_"I think so." I handed him his phone. "Looks like you have several messages."_

_He looked at it. "OK. I'll check 'em later." His eyes returned to Tina. "But what were you doing at my place?"_

_"Like I said, looking for you. Bobby didn't know where you were, either."_

_"Who's Bobby?" I asked._

_"Bobby's the guy in the apartment next to mine. Older guy, retired. He kinda watches out for everyone in the building. I guess he didn't see me leave with the paramedics." He smiled at Tina. "You'd better tell him I'm OK."_

_She nodded. "I will. I have to go back there to get my car." She turned to indicate us. "Jess says she was with you when you were abducted but she's not sick like you."_

_"They tell me I was affected the most. Jess and her sister were both sick, too, but they recovered already."_

_"How did all of this happen and why?"_

_"I wish I knew. Dr. House is trying to find out." He gestured toward me._

_"He and Jess asked me questions about my family. Julio, you don't think they would do something like this, do you?"_

_"I don't know what to think. Tina, there are some things I never told you, but this may all be tied into it."_

_She frowned at him. "What kind of things?"_

_He swallowed hard. "Carlo seems to think that your family had something to do with Francesca's death."_

_"But it was an accident, wasn't it? And why would my family have anything to do with it? We didn't even know her." Her eyes narrowed. "What does any of this have to do with the place your used to work?"_

_"Jess thinks that's where we were held." He shook his head. "Carlo owns it. It has nothing to do with your family. None of this makes sense."_

_"It's possible that some of Tina's relatives were customers of the shop," I said._

_"Really? I don't remember seeing the name Locarno as a customer there."_

_"Doesn't Carlo have another car shop, closer to Trenton?" Jess asked._

_"Yeah. There's one in Trenton, but it doesn't cater to the same clientele. I think they specialize in souping up cars for street racing and things like that." Julio turned to Tina. "Anyone in your family into that?" He sounded surprised._

_"One of my brothers used to be. Ricky. But he had a bad accident a year or so ago."_

_"During a race?"_

_"Yeah. He broke his leg, took forever to heal and he still walks with a limp." She looked at my right leg. "He doesn't need a cane, though."_

_"Before his accident, was it possible that he took a car to the shop in Trenton?" Jess asked._

_"I guess so. You'd have to ask him."_

_Jess looked at me. "I think we should do that." I nodded._


	100. Chapter 100

__House and Jess are off to follow up on the people Tina mentioned, her uncle and brother, but first to check out the other auto shop Molino owns. Are they close to finding out who kidnapped Jess, her sister and Julio? And will they ever know why?__

__I'll be out of town for a few days this week, but I should have another chapter for you next weekend. Thanks for reading and for your comments.__

_**Chapter 100.**_

_We took Tina back to where she'd parked her car near Julio's apartment, and then continued on to Trenton. I wanted to see the other shop owned by Molino, even though I was sure no one there would tell me whether Tina's brother or any other members of her family were customers. We also needed to talk to Tina's uncle and brother. I knew I'd think of some excuse to approach them._

_The shop looked very different from the one we'd been to before. We were in my car instead of Nina's this time, but it was more appropriate for the work that this shop did. I parked in front of the office and we went inside. The interior had more of a resemblance to the other shop. A few desks and walls covered with photos of the work they'd done over the years with beaming customers standing next to some souped up older cars. A salesman made a beeline for us before the door closed._

_"Can I help you?" he asked. He was tall and slim, fairly young with a bit of a scruff but well-groomed brown hair._

_"A friend of mine had some work done here about a year or so ago, and he talked me into having the engine in mine replaced, maybe even the wheels and tires."_

_"That your vehicle out in the lot?" He pointed to my car._

_"Yeah. I've had it forever, but it would be nice if it had a bit more oomph, know what I mean?"_

_He nodded and smiled, probably thinking he had a pigeon he could sell all sorts of add ons._

_"Ricky said you did the best work around the area," Jess said, smiling back at him. Having a young and pretty woman along wasn't hurting._

_He looked her over. "Ricky, that's your friend?"_

_She nodded. "Ricky Locarno. Poor guy. He still enjoys driving, but it hasn't been the same since his accident."_

_The salesman shook his head. "Sorry, I don't recognize the name." _

_Jess and I exchanged a look, but let it drop. "So, what can you do with my car?" I asked. _

_Smiling the man motioned over to one of the desks. As we sat down, he took out some lists, brochures and a few photos and began a long spiel about how they could replace the V8 in my car with something __five times more powerful and yet smaller. Then he segued into exhaust systems and other ways to boost the performance._

_"I'm going to have to think about it." I took some of the brochures he had and stood to leave._

_"Sure, take your time and think about what you want. We like our customers to be satisfied." He pointed to the pictures of smiling folks on the wall behind him._

_"We'll be back when we decide," I told him._

_"Just ask for me, Tom." He held out a hand. I let Jess shake it and we left._

_"Well, that was a bust," she said._

_"Not necessarily. If Ricky had work done over a year ago, he may never have met him." I opened the car door but didn't get in. "The interesting thing was the picture of the woman next to the red convertible."_

_"The dark-haired woman? She did look familiar."_

_"If I'm not mistaken, it was Francesca."_

_Jess nodded slowly. "Yes! I think you're right. But why would she be in a picture on the wall of a business her husband owns?"_

_"Exactly. If she left Italy to get away from him, why was she anywhere near one of his shops?"_

_"I think we need to bring Julio here to see that photo once he's released from the hospital," she suggested._

_"I wonder who else he might recognize. Tina, too."_

_"But what can we do for now?"_

_I started the car and drove out of the lot. "Perhaps it's time to pay a little visit to the Locarno office in Trenton, maybe even talk to Uncle Marcello."_

_"We had a good excuse at the car shop, but why would we be visiting that office?"_

_I shrugged. "It's a real estate office. We could be looking for a new place to live."_

_"We just moved into our condo," Jess reminded me._

_"Marcello won't have to know that, just that we own a place in Princeton. Maybe we're looking for a bigger place."_

_"In Trenton?"_

_"Most real estate agencies cover a wide area of the state. Then again, why not Trenton?" A new idea occurred to me. "Or even better, you could be looking for office space for the new catering business you're starting with your sister."_

_Jess smiled. "Yes, that might work. Office space in Princeton is expensive. I'm sure there are cheaper places in Trenton that would be just as convenient for the business."_

_"You realize we're not really looking for office space."_

_"Oh, I know, but it adds some truth to why we're there."_

_The Locarno firm was in a new office building in one of the better parts of Trenton. We parked in a nearby lot and entered the building. It was cool inside the lobby. The marble walls and floors and high ceiling gave an appearance of wealth and prestige. A beefy man in a guard uniform sat at a desk in the middle of the lobby, scrutinizing everyone who entered. "Are you here to see someone?" he asked them._

_"Marcello Locarno." Jess flashed her best smile._

_"Do you have an appointment?" He glanced down at a sheet on the desk in front of him._

_"I...I thought we did. Jessica Giordano." She pretended to try and see the list._

_He shook his head. "Names not here."_

_"Well, do you think you can check with his office. Maybe they didn't add it."_

_He stared at her but picked up a phone and hit a few buttons. "There's a Jennifer Jordan here..."_

_"...that's Jessica Giordano!"_

_"Uh, Jessica Giordano. She claims she had an appointment with Mister Marcello." The man listened, then turned to them, shaking his head. "You don't have an appointment with anyone."_

_Jess looked at me, frowning. "Didn't you say that it was today with Marcello?"_

_I shrugged. "That's what Tina said."_

_"Well, maybe she didn't tell him." Her shoulders slumped. "Could we make an appointment?" she asked the guard. "I really wanted to work with him. We want to find the best place we can."_

_The man took one look at her and spoke into the phone again. "Cheryl, does he have any free time today? There's a lady here wants to talk to him about finding a place." He listened, then smiled and hung up the phone. "Mr. Marcello can see you in an hour."_

_"Thank you so much!" Jess gushed. I think she would have hugged him if the desk wasn't in the way. _

_He blushed as if she had._

_We walked back out. A few doors down we found a coffee shop, a good place to pass the next hour. _

_"What do you think Marcello can tell us?" Jess sipped at one of those frou-frou coffee drinks that sound terrible and taste worse. She made a face. "This is bitter."_

_"Serves you right. Gimme a good old cup of java any day."_

_She pushed her cup away and sat back waiting for me to tell her what our game plan should be._

_"We need to casually mention Carlo Molino, his wife, and Julio, and see his reaction to the names."_

_She nodded, with me so far._

_I pursed my lips as I thought about it. "It might not hurt to bring up any of the other players in this little drama: Bertoli, maybe even Tina and her brother."_

_"Well, the last two are his niece and nephew."_

_"Yeah, but who knows what the relationships are in the Locarno family."_

_"Ah, right!" She nodded a few times. "I've gotta get something else to take this taste out of my mouth." She stood and went to the counter, returning before long with a glass of iced tea. She took a few pulls on her straw. "That's better." Her phone began to play. "Hi, Nina. How are you feeling?" After a few "Um-hms" and as many nods, she said, "OK, we'll see you later." She slipped the phone back into her purse. "Nina wants us to meet her at Uncle Johnny's restaurant for dinner."_

_"She must be feeling much better. You didn't tell her where we were or what we were doing."_

_Jess shrugged. "There'll be time for that later." She glanced at her watch. "But right now, it's time to see what Marcello Locarno can tell us."_

_We finished our drinks, and returned to the office building. This time the guard pointed us in the direction of the elevators. "Tenth floor. The doors are opposite the elevators."_

_Jess and I looked at each other, got on the elevator, and she pushed the button for ten._


	101. Chapter 101

I'm back and ready to post another chapter.

__To the reader who left a guest review questioning my interpretation of House's character, I beg to differ with you. House wants people to think he's ____ironic, sarcastic, sexist and insulting. ____But that's part of his camouflage, part of the defensive walls he built around himself over the years. He almost believes it himself. In this story and all of my other House fanfics, there are people who bring out what he's hidden. The only thing he's confident about is his mind, his intellect. In every other aspect of his life, he's unsure. He's afraid to feel, afraid of getting close to people.__

_**Chapter 101.**_

_As we got off the elevator we __faced double__ glass doors imprinted with the words 'Locarno Real Estate' in ten-inch high gold letters. Nothing else. The moment we went through them, a middle-aged woman in a crisp white blouse rose from behind her mahogany desk and smiled at us. "You must be Jessica Giordano. I'm Cheryl, Mr. Marcello's assistant."_

_"Yes, I'm Jess, and this is my friend, Dr. Gregory House."_

_"Mr. Marcello's waiting for you." She led us down a hall, carpeted in a deep pile Berber, to a wood panel door and pushed it open, letting us enter._

_A tall, __slim__ man in an expensive Italian suit stood by the window and motioned for us to take chairs at the large conference table. Once we were seated, he joined us and nodded at the woman. She left, but returned quickly carrying a tray with three white ceramic mugs and a carafe of coffee. She poured before leaving us again. _

_Marcello __smoothed his well-cut black hair and __got down to business. "I understand you're interested in purchasing property? Cheryl said you mentioned my niece."_

_"Yes, Tina. She said your company was one of the largest real estate firms in Trenton." Jess spread her hands on the table. "My sister and I are starting a catering business. We'll be working with restaurants in Trenton and Princeton, and will need a fairly central location to manage it all from."_

_"I see. But surely Tina told you I'm not a salesman. I'm a lawyer." He added cream to his coffee, but didn't drink any. "I work on the contracts and some of the other paperwork our clients need when they purchase a property."_

_"Oh, yes she did mention that. But since we didn't know who else to approach in your company, we came to you. I hope you can turn us over to your best realtor. We really need the perfect office space for our new company." Jess turned on that hundred watt smile that charmed the guard in the lobby. _

_It worked on Marcello, too. He returned her smile and nodded. "Tell me a little about your business."_

_"My sister, Nina, and I are starting a catering business. We already have contracts with several different restaurants to provide the food so that we can cater large and small parties. We'll need an office where we can talk to clients, keep records, and make all the arrangements for each event. So far, we have a staff of four, but expect we'll need about four or five more full-time employees, as well as maybe a dozen we can call on as needed."_

_She'd thought this out a lot more than I'd known, but I wasn't surprised._

_"So you need about eight hundred square feet, including space to keep equipment you own." Marcello was writing down notes as she spoke._

_Jess nodded. "Right. Two or three offices plus storage room. We do want this to be a class operation, so the offices will have to be furnished, well, like your offices." She indicated the table, chairs, and book cases in the conference room._

_Marcello nodded. "I think the best person for you to work with is my nephew, Richard. Tina's brother. I'm surprised she didn't send you to him." He finally took a sip of coffee, his eyes on Jess._

_I hid my smile. We'd now have a legitimate reason to talk to Ricky. But now we had to weave the name Carlo Molino into the conversation and see Marcello's reaction._

_The man himself gave us the opening. "How do you know Tina?"_

_"Oh, we're friends of a friend. Julio Curci."_

_Marcello nodded, but he wasn't smiling. "Yes, she's mentioned Julio."_

_"He's a nice young man." Jess smiled warmly to show her fondness for him. "He works at one of the restaurants we've contracted with, The Melting Pot."_

_"Sounds like a fondu place."_

_"It is. The owner thinks very highly of Julio, plucked him away from a job at one of Carlo Molino's auto shops." Jess paused to wait for a reaction, but the only thing I noticed was some movement of his eyes, as if he was considering what she said._

_"Have you ever had any work done at one of them?" I asked. "I'm thinking of getting the engine of my car replaced with a more powerful one at the place in Trenton."_

_Marcello shook his head. Either he had something to hide and was good at it, or it was true that he didn't know Molino's shops._

_"Well, if you can help us set up a meeting with Ricky, I'd be most obliged." Jess stood._

_"Ricky." Marcello smiled. "Yes, that's what Tina calls him, isn't it?" He stood as well. "I'll have Cheryl check Richard's schedule. I'm sure we can arrange something within the next day or so."_

_"That'll be perfect. Hopefully, my sister will be able to meet with us, too."_

_I stood and Marcello ushered us back to Cheryl's desk. "Cheryl, please look at Mr. Richard's appointments for the next few days and find a time for Miss Giordano to meet with him."_

_"Of course, Mr. Marcello. By the way, Mr. Locarno called. He'll meet with you at three today."_

_Marcello nodded but he was frowning. "Very well." He turned and left us._

_I wondered why everyone called him 'Mr. Marcello' and Ricky 'Mr. Richard', but there could only be one Mr. Locarno. "Is Mr. Locarno active in this business too?" I put on my most innocent look._

_Cheryl looked up from her computer. "He does take an interest, but Mr. Marcello oversees all the day-to-day operations." She looked back to the screen. "Mr. Richard has some time tomorrow morning starting at ten."_

_"Sounds good," Jess said. "I think my sister will be able to join me." She looked at me. _

_"And so will I." We made a good tag team, and I wasn't going to have her talk to Ricky without me._

_Cheryl nodded once. "I've added you to his schedule. We'll see you tomorrow."_

_"Thank you." Jess smiled at her, and we left._

_Once we were in the elevator heading down again, I said, "This is working out better than I thought."_

_"We'll see." Jess shrugged._

_I studied her. She was usually the optimistic one._

_She smiled back at me. "Relax. I just don't want to get my hopes up. It seems every time we think we're getting closer to learning what's going on, why Molino sent Julio, why we were abducted, even what happened to Francesca, it doesn't pan out." _

_Once we were in the car again, she __took__ out her phone._

_"Who are you calling?" I pulled out of the parking space, ready to head back to Princeton._

_"My sister. I know we'll be seeing her later, but I wanted to let her know as soon as possible about the appointment with Ricky." __She turned her attention to the phone. "Nina? It's Jess." She was quiet for a few seconds. "Yes, I know, but I wanted to tell you something before then. We're meeting with Richard Locarno tomorrow morning in Trenton." A pause. "No, he doesn't own a restaurant. He's a real estate agent. We need office space, don't we? And we still don't know why Julio was sent to revenge the Locarnos when they had nothing to do with his cousin's death. __Maybe Ricky has some answers.__" She grinned. "__Well, yes, I guess we are. See you later __and we'll tell you all about how we set this up__."_

_A__s she ended the call, I asked, "We are what?" _

_"Playing detective." She grinned. "I'm beginning to understand the thrill you get out of solving a complex medical case. I only hope that the solution to this isn't a let down."_

_"It won't be. Whatever the explanation, it's something we haven't thought of yet."_

_"You seem sure of that."_

_I nodded. __Traffic was heavier than it had been earlier and we didn't arrive back at the condo until almost six._

_"We don't have much time before we're supposed to meet Nina." Jess got out of the car and hurried inside. "I want to shower and change."_

_"It'll take less time if we shower together."_

_She chuckled. "Sure, why not? But we don't have time for anything else."_

_By ten to seven we were out the door and on our way again. We __were a little late arriving at Johnny's restaurant. Nina was already seated. I wasn't surprised to see Wilson with her._

_"__We haven't ordered yet," Nina said as we sat down. She looked around the restaurant. "I think Uncle Johnny wants to order for us anyway."_

_"No doubt something that isn't even on the menu."_

_"No doubt." Nina grinned. "So, what's this about a meeting with one of the Locarnos tomorrow? How'd you even make contact with him?"_

_Jess explained about how we met Tina, and all she said about her brother and uncle._

_"I would think the one you want to talk to is the uncle." Wilson had been listening intently to what she said._

_"We already have." I smirked at him. "Marcello is a lawyer for the Locarno real estate firm. He personally set up an appointment for tomorrow morning for us with his nephew."_

_"But why would we be meeting with a realtor?" Nina still didn't get it._

_"We need an office to run our business, don't we?" Before Jess could explain any more, Johnny appeared._

_"I am so glad to see my two favorite nieces here again tonight. You're both looking well. I trust you're feeling alright."_

_"Yes. We've both recovered." Jess smiled at him._

_"And not one but two doctors with you tonight." He motioned to one of the waiters. "Please bring my nieces and their guests the deluxe antipasto plate. I will have the kitchen prepare some entrees __for __them. The bill comes to me, understand?"_

_"Yes, of course Mr. Giordano." __The waiter scurried off._

_"How about a pasta carbonaro to start?" Johnny smiled and nodded before continuing. "Or perhaps you would prefer the lobster ravioli?" He didn't wait for an answer. "And then, a caprese salad. Veal scallopine in a white wine demi-glace, osso buco, and chicken breast wrapped in pancetta roasted with fontina, no?" He was still nodding and muttering to himself as he went off to the kitchen._

_My mouth was salivating._


	102. Chapter 102

__House, Jess, Wilson and Nina are finishing up the meal they started in last week's chapter. Now that's a long meal. But this chapter is more about meeting with Ricky Locarno.__

__Thanks to all of you who are reading my story.__

_**Chapter 102.**_

_We'd reached the entree part of the meal when Johnny joined us. "How was everything?"_

_"Delicious." Nina grinned at him. "Then again, we wouldn't have contracted with you if the food from your kitchens wasn't top notch."_

_I was too busy eating to reply. It had been one of the best Italian meals I'd ever had, even in Italy. __The osso buco alone was the most delicious."_

_"I sense the four of you are up to something more than enjoying my food."_

_How much did we want to share with Johnny? He'd been helpful the past few days, but I doubted he had any more information for us._

_"We're just talking about where we might set up an office for the catering company," Jess said. _

_I smiled at her. _

_"__You could use some space here," Johnny offered._

_"We'll need quite a bit of space, maybe eight hundred square feet."_

_"Hmm. I doubt we'd have that much. There's a small restaurant not far away that's going out of business. That property might be available."_

_Nina and __Jess exchanged nods. "Something to consider," Nina said._

_Johnny studied them. "That's not all, is it? You still don't know why you were abducted with that boy, Julio."_

_Jess shrugged. "There's no way we can get to the bottom of that now."_

_"No? With all you learned about him, why he came to this country, __all of that. I'm sure you have some ideas." He turned to me. "Doctor, you don't strike me as the type to let this go."_

_"__And what do you expect we can do about it? I'm a doctor. I solve medical puzzles." I felt Jess' eyes on me as I played innocent._

_Johnny stroked his chin. "Nina, do you, too, think there is no way you can find out what is going on?"_

_"Well, I..." She looked at Jess and then me. Jess lips were pressed together and my face was as blank as I could make it. Nina cleared her throat. "I wouldn't know where to begin."_

_I noticed that Johnny didn't ask Wilson, and a good thing too. He was the only one who wasn't directly involved in our investigation, but he was the one with the biggest mouth and he'd heard our earlier discussion._

_Johnny sighed. "Well, if I hear anything, I'll let you all know."_

_"Thanks, Uncle Johnny." Jess smiled at him. "__We'd appreciate it."_

_"And now, for dessert. I know how much you girls enjoyed __the tiramisu the last time you were here. And maybe some zaba__g__lione, too?"_

_"Sounds yummy," I said._

_He left again to arrange for the finishing touches on our meal, and Jess and I breathed a sigh of relief._

_"I'm not sure why you don't want him to know what we're doing," Nina said._

_"The fewer people who know, the better." I saw Jess nod in agreement. "If we think he can help, we'll tell him what we know before we ask."_

_The next morning, we picked up Nina and drove back to Trenton. My car was beginning to know the way. We arrived at the building housing the Locarno offices ten minutes early._

_"Should we go up right away?" Nina bit her lower lip._

_I shrugged. "Why not?" I went through the revolving door with Jess and Nina behind me, and up to the lobby desk. "Hi again."_

_The guard looked at us. He seemed to recognize Jess and smiled at her._

_She grinned back. __"__We have an appointment with Mister Richard."_

_"Yes, you're on my list." His gaze shifted to Nina and his eyes lit up. "And you are?"_

_"She's my sister. They may have her name on the list, too."_

_"Oh, yeah. Here it is." He tapped the list. "You can go up."_

_We took the elevator to the tenth floor again. This time when we went through the glass doors, a younger woman met us. "__Jessica and Nina Giordano? I'm the receptionist, Heather. Mister Richard is expecting you. Right this way."_

_She took us to the same conference room where we'd met with Marcello the day before. The young man sitting at the table looked up when we walked in. __I tried to remember if he'd been in any of the pictures on the wall of either of the auto shops, but I didn't think so._

_"I apologize for not getting up." He touched the crutches leaning against the table to his left. A younger and slighter version of Marcello, he wore a dark gray suit, white shirt, and maroon tie. _

_I lifted my cane in response. _

_"My uncle told me what you were looking for. I've picked out half a dozen possible locations." He pointed to the papers on the table. "__Two are in Trenton and the rest just north of the city."_

_While Nina and Jess looked at the descriptions of each in turn, I asked, "What, you don't use computers for this?" _

_"Oh, yes, we do, but I thought it would be easier for the ladies to look at them together this way. Of course, we can set up access so they can look at new properties that become available, and also look at more details on everyone they're interested in. I gather you're Dr. House? Where do you fit into their new business?"_

_I ran a hand over my mouth and chin. "Nothing. I'm just along for the ride. Moral support, you might say."_

_"Do you know my sister, too?"_

_"Tina? Sure. Nice kid." I pointed to his crutches. "She told us about your accident, but not that you still needed those."_

_Ricky shrugged. "Some days I can manage without them."_

_I nodded. "I can relate."_

_"So what happened to you? Was it an accident, too?"_

_If I lied, I might be able to segue into a discussion of cars, but it would be too easy for him to catch me out. "__No, it was an infarction, like a heart attack, but in my leg. The muscle died, they removed a piece, end of story. Except for the constant ache, the frequent pain, and this." I brandished my cane._

_The sympathy in his eyes were also something I saw often. At least he had the experience to e empathetic._

_"I like these three." Jess spread them out in front of her._

_Nina nodded. "But what about this one?" She placed a fourth one on top of the middle of the three. __It looked like office space in a high-rise._

_Jess nodded. __"__I considered it, but decided it wouldn't have the street presence of the others."_

_"OK." Nina moved it away and looked more carefully at the three Jess picked. She glanced up at Ricky. "Can you take us to see these?"_

_"I'll have to set it up. Only one of them is listed directly with us, the others are multiple listings." He reached for the phone on the desk and began punching in numbers. Once he'd completed a low-voiced conversation with the person on the other end, he hung up the phone and smiled at us. "I can take you to the one we're selling this morning and the other two tomorrow afternoon."_

_Jess looked at her sister and shrugged. Nina nodded. "Fine with me."_

_I could accompany them to the first, but had to make an appearance at the hospital sometime. I hoped that if I showed up that afternoon and in the morning I could get away to meet them by two the next afternoon. Meanwhile, I'd have to make the most of my time with Ricky. _

_"Can we go now?" I asked. "I have to get back to the hospital where I work in a couple of hours."_

_"Sure." Ricky stood with some difficulty and grabbed the crutches. "You can all come in my car. It's not far."_

_We followed him out to the elevator. He took us to the garage under the building __where his car was parked in a close in handicapped spot. It was a brand-new BMW, similar to Nina's, but it had been modified to make it easier for Ricky to drive._

_"Nice work on this car. Where'd you have it done?" It was an obvious question __and I didn't think it would send off any red flags._

_"A place here in Trenton. Custom Cars. It's over on Old Trenton Road." _

_So he ___had___ used Molino's shope. I wondered if he knew who owned it. _

_He looked at me as I slid into the front passenger seat. "Are you thinking of having work done on your car?"_

_I nodded. "I've thought about it off and on over the years. Looks like they do good work."_

_"They should. It cost the moon, but it was worth it. I probably have their card somewhere." He drove out of the garage and down the street. About two miles later, he pulled up in front of a storefront with a For Sale sign in the window. It was in the middle of a row of storefronts, most of which were occupied. "This is it, ladies." _

_We all got out and Ricky struggled with the crutches and a lockbox until Nina offered to open it for him to get out the key._

_The front room was empty and fairly large. A door at the back led to a room about the same size with some shelving and a sink._

_"At least there's plumbing," Nina commented, but she wasn't smiling._

_The back room contained a beat-up old desk and a rickety wooden swivel chair, with a door to the alley behind the row of stores._

_Jess grimaced. "It'll do, but it's far from perfect."_

_Nina nodded. "It would definitely be better if the storeroom was in the back, and the office space connected to the entry. And I don't think we need so much room up front."__ She sighed deeply. "Guess we'll have to see what you can show us tomorrow. Thanks, Richard." _


	103. Chapter 103

__To make things more interesting, I'm throwing in a new case for ____House ____and his team.__

__Thanks to all of you who are reading my story.__

_**Chapter 103.**_

_I__ drove __the sisters __back to Princeton. "You're both really getting into this looking-for-office-space thing, __aren't you?__"_

_"The more I think about it, the more I'm sure we __could use__ a place like that." Jess chuckled. "And I guess we might as well work with Ricky to find it. __He's a known quantity now."_

_I was more determined than ever to __accompany__ Jess and Nina when they met with __him__ to see the other properties. I'd made progress __looking for a connection to Molino__, learning that __Ricky__ had his car __altered for his use__ at Molino's place, but I needed to go further and find out whether he knew Francesca, or even __the man__ himself. _

_"But the one we saw today __won't do__." Nina shook her head. __"That didn't come close to what we need."_

_"What did you think of Ricky?" I watched her face in the __rear-view__ mirror as I drove._

_"He's young but he seems to know his business. I don't blame him for trying to sell us on one his own listings. Doesn't he get more of a commission if he does?"_

_"Yes," Jess said. "__The rental __fee __he gets is probably__ five or six percent __of one month's rent __if he represents both the renter and the owner, but only three percent if it's only the renter." Jess knew some interesting facts._

_Jess __got out with her sister when we reached__ Nina's place. __I continued on to__ PPTH. The last I heard, my team didn't have a patient, __but I knew I should show up__. I found __Chase, Foreman and Thirteen __in the conference room, and __they __all seemed surprised to see me. _

_"Nice of you to show up." __Chase s__mirked at me__._

_I shrugged. "There __hasn't been anything__ for me to do here, and plenty to do elsewhere."_

_"__And of course you're not going to tell us what that was." Thirteen __rolled her eyes__. "It woul__d__n't involve your girlfriend and her sister, would it?"_

_"You don't really think you still have a chance with Nina, do you?" I countered, and her cheeks reddened._

_"We were going over some cases, hoping to pick one." Foreman __had to spoil my fun by interrupting__._

_"Without my consent?" My challenge made him squirm. _

_"You weren't here. We would have gotten your approval before we began, in any event."_

_"So, whaddya got?" __I sat down next to Chase and peered over his shoulder._

_He let out a long-suffering sigh. "Thirteen-year-old girl with shortness of breath, nausea and swollen ankles."_

_"She's pregnant. Next."_

_"She's thirteen." __Foreman repeated as if it was a symptom._

_"So? In some cultures the women start having babies at eleven or twelve. She's probably been fooling aroun__d__ with a boyfriend. Or maybe two."_

_"She's a shy kid from a well-to-do family," __Chase objected._

_"Since when did having money serve as a means of birth control?" __ I wondered whether we should take the case anyway, since we'd be able to prove our diagnosis with a quick test and wouldn't have a patient any more by this time tomorrow, but I also didn't want to be bored. "With apologies for repeating myself, but, next."_

_Thirteen had one. "Forty-year-old male can't __keep food down but he's hungry all the time. Plus, his vision is blurry and his hands shake."_

_"And don't say ___he's___ pregnant." Foreman glared at me._

_"OK, I won't." I puffed out my lips. "__It's __hypoglycemia."_

_"__Are you sure? Foreman was going for Essential Tremor or Parkinsons__." __Thirteen stared at me._

_"The ___neurologist___ would think of those. Of course I'm sure."_

_They shuffled the rest of the files. Eventually Foreman passed one to me. "How about this toddler? Failure to gain weight and frequent infections, occasional bluish skin."_

_The file was thick. The fifteen-month-old boy had been in and out of the hospital four times in his short life. "OK, we'll take this one." We might not be able diagnose him in a day, but we could make a good start, certainly better than any of the doctors who'd treated him in the past. "Thirteen, talk to the parents and see if there are gaps in the family history in his file."_

_She stood with her copy and left. _

_"Start genetic testing, __recheck his vitals, __and run a scan on his intestines. I doubt we can rely on most of the results in here." I tapped the folder._

_"What are you thinking?" Chase asked._

_I shook my head. "Best to start off with a blank slate for this one. Let's see what we find in the next __twenty-four to thirty-six hours. He hasn't died yet, so there's no rush."_

_Chase left to arrange the tests, but Foreman stayed behind. "You usually have some ideas before you even begin."_

_"Not this time." __I hadn't even seen the kid, but already I could feel there was something about this case, something that would make a difference in my life, even more than finding and treating Christopher Giordano had._

_I left Foreman in the conference room and went to my office to do some research. The back of my mind was still focused on the Julio-Molino-Locarno enigma, __of course, __but I was a doctor and I had an intriguing case to pursue, __so I set it aside to concentrate on what was wrong with the kid__._

_Each of the symptoms could have several causes. Even taken together, there were enough __possibilities __that we couldn't make a definitive diagnosis without the tests Chase was doing. __And a whole lot more._

_The boy was already getting treatment for some symptoms. It was possible, in the end, that would be all we could do, but I knew I wouldn't give up until I'd exhausted every clue to what the cause was._

_I became so absorbed in following the trail of my research that I didn't hear my phone at first. But I'd dug it out by the third ring, and smiled when I saw it was Jess. "Hey, what's up?"_

_"Julio called to find out whether we'd learned anything from Tina's relatives."_

_"He knew about that?" I was surprised, since I never told him we were following up after our talk with the girl._

_"__I'm not really sure how, but he seemed to think we would just demand answers from her uncle and brother." __She chuckled. "__I told him we didn't operate that way, and that we hadn't learned anything yet, __but would be seeing Ricky again tomorrow.__"_

_"I can just imagine how he'__d__ handle it, go in guns blazing and demanding they tell him what happened to his cousin."_

_"I'm not so sure. After all, he was sent here to get revenge against their family __yet__ so far ha__s__n't done anything. In fact, he and Tina __h__ave become__ good friends."_

_"Maybe that's his way to get revenge. Seduce the girl __and hurt them that way__. __If Molino thinks one of them did that to Francesca, it would be fitting. Kind of an eye for an eye.__"_

_"Greg, she's just a kid. I think __Julio__ really cares about her. Besides, it was only after they __became__ friends that he found out she was a Locarno. And don't forget that message from Molino, demanding that he carry out his marching orders. __There was no mention of Tina.__"_

_"__True. Did Julio at least offer any suggestions about how we should approach them? I sometimes think he's even more clueless about what's going on than we are."_

_"I suggested he talk to Tina. There may be things she was reluctant to tell us, but she'll tell him."_

_"Good idea." I sighed. "Well, we've got a case, so I'll be busy all afternoon. Don't know when I'll be getting home tonight."_

_"__That's __OK, __I'll have dinner with Nina __instead__. She seems pleased that we asked her to help with our investigation of the Locarnos."_

_"__She provides a bit of reali__sm__ to the office space hunt, especially when the two of you don't always agree. Maybe she has some ideas that we didn't think of." I saw Chase in my doorway, so I had to end the conversation with Jess. "__I'll try to call when I know how late I'll be." __When I'd closed my phone I looked up at Chase. "Find something?" _

_"He has a heart defect." He was frowning. "I don't understand why no one noticed that sooner." _

_"Interesting." I tapped my fingers on my desk. "Have you scheduled the genetic tests?"_

_"Yes. Rogers will start as soon as he finishes his backlog."_

_Rogers was the best geneticist on staff. He'd helped when we were working on our study of hyperacusis, and his expertise was in high demand. "Well, make sure he tests for a__ny__ chromosome deletion__s__."_

_"__House, there's something else. It doesn't have to do with this case, but I just heard __the__ paper __we submitted __on our study was accepted for publication in JAMA next month. I know you've been preoccupied with Jess' and Nina's abduction..."_

_"That doesn't mean I'm completely unaware that you submitted our results."_

_"We gave credit to everyone who worked on the study, including your girlfriend."_

_I nodded. "So now you can focus on this case."_

_He smiled at me. "Of course."_

_When I was alone again, I renewed my search with the added symptom, the field narrowed substantially. The genetic test would help, __too__. __But I still had a nagging feeling that I wasn't approaching this the right way. __Had I been concentrating so much on Jess, her kidnapping, and the reason for it that I'd lost my touch? It didn't seem likely._

_I needed to work out what we knew about the child and what it might mean. The white board was calling. My conference room was empty when I entered this time. I picked up a marker and started to write. I was still at it when Thirteen returned._

_"The parents didn't have anything to add to what we already knew," she reported._

_I nodded. "Chase found a heart defect."_

_"That wasn't in Billy's file." She shuffled through the copy in her hand._

_"Strange, isn't it? After all of his visits to the hospital, all of the doctors who've examined and treated him, none of them noticed?"_

_"Maybe it's something new." She stood next to me, reading what I'd written._

_"I doubt it. It's not the kind of thing that happens suddenly to a kid at fifteen months."_

_"No, it isn't. But how else would you explain it?"_

_"Other doctors are idiots?"_

_She chuckled. "Well, that's true enough."_


	104. Chapter 104

__Is House getting any closer to finding the meaning of his life? We'll see.__

__Thanks to all of you who are reading my story.__

_**Chapter 104.**_

_"Chase is running more tests," __I told Thirteen.__ "I don't know where your former lover's gone."_

_"__Foreman?" __She sneered._

_"What, do you have another I don't know about?"_

_"__None that work for you." __Only she could deliver that line with a deadpan face. "I have no idea where he is."_

_Just then, the man in question entered._

_"Your ears must be ringing."_

_He ignored my quip and joined us at the whiteboard. "Billy?"_

_"That's the only patient we have at the moment."_

_"I didn't know he had a heart problem." He pointed at that line on the board._

_"Neither did the gazillion doctors he saw before his parents brought him to us." But my mind was __focused __more on the combination of symptoms __rather than__ any effort to impugn the reputations of the kid's previous doctors. "Which of these things is not like the other?"_

_"Huh? Oh." Thirteen squinted at my writing, as if it would make more sense __out __of what it meant. "To tell you the truth, __none__ of these symptoms go together."_

_I made a buzzer noise with my lips. "Wrong answer. The bluish skin and heart defect could be related, and the failure to gain weight could be tied to the frequent infections, but the two sets of symptoms could have only a tenuous connection."_

_"__Where does the calcium deficiency fit in?" Foreman asked._

_I'd seen that in the blood workup, but it hadn't seemed important. "Maybe with the failure to gain weight." I skimmed through the file again. "No one did any developmental tests on him, did they?"_

_Thirteen shook her head. "If they did, it's not recorded here."_

_"Go tell Chase to add that to his list."_

_She nodded, then went to find the Aussie. _

_"__Where's the short one? I haven't seen him all day."_

_Foreman t__ook his eyes off the board and looked at me__. "Huh?"_

_"I asked what Taub's doing."_

_"Oh, he had to go out of town for a couple of days. He'll be back tomorrow." His eyes narrowed at me. "You think you're the only one who can take off to do God knows what whenever you feel like?"_

_"As a matter of fact..."_

_Foreman rolled his eyes. He didn't notice that I was staring at what I'd written earlier._

_I sat at the conference table and went through the file again, this time much more slowly. Something didn't fit, and yet all the symptoms had been observed and confirmed. What was going on with this kid? It was time for me to get a look at him in person._

_Taking the file with me, without another word to Foreman, I limped out of the conference room and down the hall to Billy's room. He looked so small in the huge hospital bed. __Even for a toddler he was tiny._

_In a corner of the room, Thirteen was talking to a pretty young woman with curly brown hair and a taller man with horn-rimmed glasses and black hair, presumably the little boy's parents. _

_I approached the bed __and the boy looked at me, then his mouth twitched. He rubbed his running nose with his right hand. I handed him a tissue from a box on the table next to the bed, but he didn't seem to know what to do with it._

_I hadn't heard the man approach, but suddenly he was at my shoulder. "Who are you?"_

_Thirteen answered for me. "He's Dr. House, my boss. He heads the team working __on __your son__'s diagnosis__. __House, these are Mr. and Mrs. Collins.__"_

_"Does he speak?" __I indicated the child with my chin._

_"Well, no. But he's only fifteen months." Billy's mother was quick to make excuses._

_"What about feeding himself? Trying to put on or take off his clothes? __Does he like to empty cabinets?__" __Fif__teen-month-olds should be doing all of those things._

_She shook her head._

_"__Can he at least sit up by himself?" Maybe __there__ was a motor problem._

_Mother brightened. "Yes, of course."_

_Well that was something. "__Does he ever t__ry to stand?"_

_"Well, he tries. Mostly he crawls." She walked over to her son and put a protective arm around him. _

_He stared up at her without much expression, and rubbed his nose again._

_"And you don't think that's strange?"_

_"He's been sick, most of his life," the boy's father pointed out. "He hasn't had a chance to learn to do those things."_

_"Billy's an only child, isn't he?" They didn't have another to compare him to, __so they couldn't know how behind he was__._

_They both nodded, but only __Mr. Collins__ looked at me questioningly. _

_"His development __is slow and __may be __another result__ of what's wrong with him, another symptom." I turned to Thirteen. "Did you ask Chase to arrange the tests?"_

_"Yes. The psychologist, __Dr. Hamill,__ who administers them is out today. She'll be back tomorrow."_

_"Can't be helped, I guess." I did a quick calculation in my head. If they were busy testing the kid, I could slip away and go to Trenton again with Jess and Nina. "__She__'ll just confirm what we suspect, anyway." Turning back to the parents I said, "Did Dr. Hadley tell you that we found a heart defect that none of the other doctors noticed?"_

_M__rs. Collins __gasped, but __her husband__ only took a deep breath. "What else will you find that's wrong with our son?" he asked._

_"__If I knew that, I wouldn't have to do any tests."_

_"So you're just clutching at straws?"_

_"We've already uncovered more than any of the other doctors who've seen him. And he's been our patient for, what, three or four hours?"_

_His shoulders slumped and he nodded. "We just want to know what's causing all of his problems and what you can do about it."_

_"That's what we're here for."_

_Foreman and Chase joined us. It was getting crowded in the room, but I wasn't ready to leave._

_"Thirteen says Hamill can't test him until tomorrow."_

_"She's seeing a patient in New York City, but they've put Billy on her schedule, listing his case as urgent. __She'll test him in the morning.__" Chase handed me a readout from some of the kid's blood tests._

_The parents watched expectantly as my eyes skimmed the data. "At least most of his blood __chemistry is__ normal. We already knew the calcium level was a little low, but even with the other problems, the blood cell counts are within range."_

_"That's good, right?" the mother said._

_"It means one less thing to worry about. We've started some genetic testing."_

_Mr. Collins nodded. __"Yes, Dr. Hadley and Dr. Chase explained that."_

_The creases in the mother's forehead multiplied. __"But if you find something, will that mean it's our fault he's sick?"_

_"No one can help their genetic makeup." Now, since when did I try to make parents feel better? "__It's something you should consider the next time you decide the world needs you __to have anothe__r child." There, that was better._

_I didn't have to look to know either Thirteen or Foreman, probably both, were rolling their eyes at me._

_"We'll leave you alone with Billy for a while," Chase said. "And we'll __come back__ when we know anything more. Meanwhile, rest assured we're doing everything we can for him."_

_The four of us left, but once we were outside the door I turned to Chase. "Wasn't that laying it on a little thick."_

_"It doesn't hurt to calm their fears."_

_"You don't want to give 'em false hope, either," Foreman said, taking my side for a change. _

_That wouldn't do. __Maybe it was time for me to take a new position. "Of course, Chase was spouting the truth." _

_Foreman glared at me, and I grinned back._

_I loped down the hall and the three of them struggled to keep up. I thought about increasing my pace, but didn't think it was worth it._

_"So what do you think the symptoms add up to?" Thirteen asked when we reached the conference room._

_"There are still too many possibilities. We're missing something." I glanced at the white board, and walked over to add 'probable delayed development. "Maybe the tests will give us an answer, or at least another clue."_

_"And maybe not." Foreman was still glaring. He stood with his arms crossed as the other two took seats at the table._

_"__I kind of feel sorry for the boy and his parents." Ever since Chase started hanging out with Ellie Giordano and Christopher he'd become much too sensitive about sick kids._

_"__Well, there's nothing you can do about them, or for them, until we get some more results. What's taking the lab so long?"_

_"You know most of the tests you ordered aren't instantaneous," Thirteen said. "Why don't you go get something to eat?"_

_"You might be right." I left them and headed for the cafeteria, wondering why she'd made the suggestion. Wilson was waiting for the elevator when I reached it._

_"Nice of you to show your face around here."_

_"I'm sure, if you could, you'd be with Nina now rather than tending to your bald-headed dying kids."_

_He ignored the remark, as he always does when he didn't have a comeback. "I hear you have a patient."_

_I nodded. "Intriguing case."_

_"Do you take any other kind?" The elevator arrived and we got on. "What about the Locarno-Molino connection? Any progress there?"_

_"Not much. I let Nina tell you about it. Give you two something to talk about."_

_We reached the ground floor, and headed together for the cafeteria. We each got coffee and a piece of pie, and I let Wilson pay for it all. He didn't even complain about it._

_"House, Nina's very different from most of the other women I've dated." He stuffed his mouth with a forkful of pie. "I don't want to screw this up."_

_"Isn't that what you're always warning me that I'm going to do?"_


	105. Chapter 105

__I____'m glad people are still reading this story. We may be getting closer to the end, as we get closer to the answers to both the medical and other puzzle____ House ____is working on.__

_**Chapter 105.**_

_"Did you hear from Julio again?" I asked Jess that evening as we sat side-by-side on the couch in __our__ living room._

_She shook her head, then smiled. "But I did hear from Tina."_

_"What did she want?"_

_"She said she and Julio had been talking about why he'd been sent to the States."_

_"He told her?" I was surprised._

_"Yes. And when he started talking about Francesca it made her think of a young woman her brother had been interested in."_

_I know my eyes must have gone wide. Had Molino heard about Francesca and Ricky? "Did they actually date?"_

_"Tina didn't think so, but Ricky kept going back to a store to see her. Tina wasn't even sure it was Francesca, since she never saw her." Jess snuggled against me. "Do you think, if it was, word got back to Molino, though?"_

_"It had to be something like that. But why would the Locarnos have Francesca killed just because Ricky __was obsessed with her__?"_

_"I know. It doesn't follow."_

_"Unless..."_

_"Unless what?" She pulled back to study my face._

_"Unless it was Molino who had her killed for leaving him, and then he thought he could blame the Locarnos for it."_

_I could almost see her mind sifting through all we knew to see whether my suggestion fit. Slowly she started to bob her head. "That's the first thing that's made sense since all of this started. But why would he send Julio to retaliate against the Locarnos?"_

_"Molino may have convinced himself that they, or at least Ricky, was the reason Francesca left him, but he used her death as an excuse."_

_"__A lie, you mean. He had to give Julio a reason to go after the Locarnos, so he blamed them for her __death."_

_"Exactly." I knew she'd get it. It was one of the reasons I loved her. "__It didn't even matter whether he had her killed or her death was really an accident."_

_"But how do we prove it?"_

_"Ah, there's the rub, as they say. We might be able to convince Julio of the truth, but we don't have any evidence of anything Molino's done."_

_"You also think he's behind our abduction?" She seemed surprised by that. "Oh, my!"_

_"It follows."_

_"But again, there's no way to link him..." She stopped suddenly. "We were held at one of his places. Yes, of course. If we can prove that..."_

_"We have to take Julio and Nina to the shop and see whether they remember the smells and sounds the way you did."_

_Jess smiled. "We can do that." She snuggled back against me. "You are the best."_

_I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but assumed she meant my analytical abilities, my mind. __I kissed the top of her head. _

_"So you have a patient now? Does that mean you won't be able to go with us to see Ricky tomorrow?" She sounded disappointed._

_"I'll be able to get away for a few hours. We've scheduled tests for the patient that won't need my presence. No one will know I'm gone."_

_She sighed with relief. "I'm glad. I need you to be there, __t__o get your perspective, ask questions we might not think of."_

_"Nothing would keep me away." __I began to trail kisses down her jawline, one of the loveliest jawlines in creation._

_She smiled in response. "Don't you ever tire of doing that?"_

_"No."_

_I knew she would__n't__ giggle. She wasn't the type. But she did chuckle. "You do know how to treat a girl."_

_"Woman, and don't you forget it." __And one sexy woman at that._

_Kisses led to caresses, which in turn led to other things. Piece by piece, we removed each others __clothes. __Warmed by passion, I didn't feel cold. __Before long, __bare skin touched bare skin. My heartbeat quickened. I lifted myself up, resting my weight on my left leg, while Jess stretched out with her head on a throw pillow. As I lowered myself, she grinned at me and reached her hands up to the sides of my face. __My lips contacted hers, and other pieces and parts touched, too. Our bodies rocked together, the heat and urgency intensifying until we reached the crest. I wished we could have stayed there longer, but eventually, it subsided and our bodies relaxed together._

_Not long after, __I __pushed myself__ up and began to gather my clothes. "This couch wasn't made for that." _

_Jess smirked at me. "But that didn't stop you. __Maybe we should get something more comfortable in here.__"_

_"__Maybe. I know__ my leg__'__s going to have something to say about it later." I rubbed the thigh as it began to throb. "Scratch that, make it now."_

_"Can I get you anything, do anything?"_

_I'd swapped my narcotic painkillers for tons of Ibuprofen, and an occasional __Neurocet__. __Having Jess in my life was helping, too, but I still felt twinges. "If I think of something, I'll let you know."_

_She sat up, then stood to pull on her panties and slacks. She slipped on her blouse, this time without the bra before sitting back down. I sat beside her, reaching for the remote. We watched a little TV but neither of us was interested in anything that was on. It was time __to stretch out in a real __bed._

_In the morning, I took my time getting up. I could hear Jess in the kitchen, humming a tune. The smell of freshly brewed coffee got me moving, although slowly._

_Clad in a silky kimono, she stood at__ the stove __and turned__ when I shuffled into the kitchen. "Sausage or bacon?" She was already breaking eggs into a bowl. _

_"Both." I poured myself some of the coffee and sat down at the table. "I'll have to go in for an hour or so this morning, but I'll pick you up by eleven." Our appointment with Ricky was for one, so that would give us time to stop for a quick lunch._

_She took out the pork products and started cooking them. __"Pick me up at Nina's. I promised to go over there this morning to __discuss __some __logo __ideas for menus and business cards we need to have printed." _

_"__That'll save us a stop." _

_Jess poured the eggs into another skillet and put four pieces of bread into the toaster. The sound of sizzling __filled the room__. I inhaled the resulting smells and waited impatiently for my breakfast to be done. "So, you think you'll settle on a base of operations today?"_

_"Depends on the places Ricky shows us. They looked good on paper, but that doesn't guarantee that we'll like one in the flesh." She stirred the eggs and set a paper towel on a plate to drain the bacon._

_I finally had a plate of food in front of me and concentrated on that long enough to get some of it __shoveled in. _

_Jess joined me at the table with her own dish. "Maybe after we meet with Ricky we can take Nina to Molino's shop to see whether it rings any bells for her."_

_"I think that can be arranged, but I'll have to get back to the hospital by about four." My food was gone, all but a small piece of toast. I spread some jam on it and plopped it in my mouth, then drained my coffee cup. "Wanna join me in the shower?" _

_"You go ahead. I'll clean up here first, but I won't be long." __She started gathering the empty plates._

_I went to the bathroom to take care of a few other things and was turning on the water when she walked in. She untied the kimono and let it fall, revealing her luscious body. I pulled off my t-shirt and sleep pants and we entered the stall together. __Showering together was becoming a morning ritual. __I'd learned early on with her that I could enjoy the sensual experience of lathering her body and having her lather mine, then rinsing off, and toweling each other dry. It didn't always have to go as far as mind-blowing sex with __Jess__, just the sense that we completely trusted each other. There was room in our lives to share all kinds of experiences._

_By __nine thirty__ we were both dressed and ready to face whatever the day brought us. I dropped her at her sister's on my way to the hospital, then turned the switched in my head that focused my mind on the immediate medical puzzle._

_Before I reached my office, I was accosted by Chase. "The psychologist will examine our patient at two this afternoon. She says she should be able to give us something today, but it'll take her a couple of days to analyze her findings."_

_"What about the other tests you did yesterday? Anything new show up?"_

_"We still don't have anything from the genetic testing. Hadley suggested we do an endocrine panel and I gave her the go-ahead." He watched my face._

_I nodded. "Anything that'll give us more data to use."_

_"One more thing. The night nurse claims he had a slight seizure during her shift, but there's no evidence of it."_

_"Seizure, huh?" That struck a chord with me, but I'd have to think about why. "I'm going to take another look at him. Oh, and I won't be here this afternoon while Hamill's with him, but I'll be back to get her preliminary results."_

_I headed for Billy's room with Chase trailing behind. There had to be something else for him to do, but I figured he w__as curious__ why I needed to see the kid._

_Mrs. Collins was feeding her son. Most of the food made it into the boy's mouth, but some dribbled out the sides. She tried to catch it with the spoon so she could shove it back in._

_Mr. Collins had been watching the procedure when we walked in, but turned toward us. "Dr. House, do you have any news for us?"_

_"Not yet. We're still verifying all of the symptoms." I walked to the bed and put a hand in front of Billy's eyes, my own test of his development and ability to focus. He didn't even seem to notice._

__A guest reviewer made the following request:____ do you think you could tell us  
>more about Greg<em>___'____s background ? Like what his father did to him , and what  
>happened to his leg , because I am soooooo confused on that <em>_

__Some of that plays into the next few chapters, so I hope I can help.__


	106. Chapter 106

__Time for Jess and Nina to see some more properties for their business and for House to ask Ricky a few more questions.__

_**Chapter 106.**_

_I left the hospital at ten forty-five and __sped to Nina's place. The two sisters were waiting for me, eager to see the places Ricky had to show them._

_"Did you come up with a logo and design for your menus and business cards?" I asked as they got in._

_Jess grinned at me. "Wait until you see what __them__!"_

_"And we've decided which name to use, __too__." There was laughter in Nina's voice._

_I didn't know they were still undecided about that. "What is it?"_

_"A Movable Feast," __they said simultaneously, then laughed._

_"That isn't bad," I allowed._

_"Oh, and do you think you can come up with something better?" Jess challenged._

_"No. But then it's not my field."_

_We stopped at a burger place for lunch. "__Why don't you add this place to your roster of restaurants?" I asked._

_"You actually liked that?" Nina pointed to my plate, __empty except for a bit of lettuce__._

_I shrugged. "It was alright for a burger."_

_"He's never met a burger he didn't like," Jess told her sister._

_"I beg your pardon! Have too, and I quickly forgot where the place was."_

_We met Ricky in his office again. He was on the phone and motioned us to sit while he finished the call. The frown on his flushed face was matched by his belligerent tone. "I did not leave work early yesterday. As a matter of fact, I was here until seven, the last one to leave." _

_I wondered why he didn't tell us to wait outside. After all, __this sounded personal and __it was none of our business._

_"Yes, I can prove it!" He tried to keep his voice down._

_The call finally ended. He stared at the phone for half a minute before taking a deep breath and forcing a smile. "Sorry about that. My grandfather is in micromanaging mode again."_

_Jess nodded. "I know what that's like. You should hear our father when he's trying to tell us how to do things and what we've done wrong._

_Even I could relate to that, but I wasn't going to bring my father into the discussion._

_"So, are you ready to see some more properties?" Ricky stood slowly and reached for his crutches. "I think you're going to like the ones I show you today much better than the space we saw yesterday."_

_We __traveled__ in his car again, this time to a newer area just inside the Trenton city limits. __The space was in one of __the __two street level offices in a three-story modern building. The reception area was accessible from the street and from inside the building. I glanced at the other business across the lobby, a dry cleaners._

_The sign on the doors of the property Ricky was showing __Jess and Nina__ indicated that the previous tenant was a florist. _

_"What happened to Fran's Flowers?" Nina pointed to the sign._

_Ricky shrugged. "I guess they didn't make it, or maybe they moved to larger quarters. The place is being offered by the company that manages this building, Co__llins__ Enterprises."_

_I'd seen the name Co__llins__ someplace before, very recently, but I couldn't recollect where. While Jess and Nina examined the three rooms, I continued the conversation I'd been having with Ricky the day before about cars and what could be done to them. "I made an appointment at __Custom Cars, __the shop where you had your work done. It'll be interesting to see what they can do for me."_

_"The staff were very helpful. I don't know whether my salesman or the mechanics who worked on my car are still there, but the management seems to run a tight ship."_

_"Someone said the shop__'__s owned by some guy in Italy, Carlo something?" I scratched my head, as if I was trying to remember his name._

_Ricky shook his head. "No one ever talked about the owner."_

_I snapped my fingers. "Molino, that's it."_

_"Huh?"_

_"The owners name. Carlo Molino."_

_Ricky shrugged. "Never heard of him."_

_I wondered whether he knew the name of the woman __his sister said __he'd been enamored of. Of course, we assumed it was Francesca Molino, but she might have used another name. "I guess you only knew the names of the salesman who worked with you, and maybe some of the mechanics."_

_His face softened. "Yes, Tony was the salesman, Tony DeLuca. I only knew the first names of a couple __of the men who did the actual work." His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to remember. There was a Mack or Mark or something, and a Bob." He shook his head. "No one named Molino."_

_"Yeah, I couldn't tell you the name of the guy I bought my motorcycle from or the one who did the last tune up on it." I threw that out as a dare for him to come up with more names._

_"I also met a woman who seemed to know one of the managers. She was there a few times and I talked to her once. Franny, they called her, but she was from the old country. You could tell from her accent." He smiled. "Pretty little thing." _

_"Pretty huh? Did you make a move on her?"_

_"Nah. What would she want with a cripple like me?" He swallowed hard. "Anyway, I heard she was killed in a car accident or something. Such a pity." He sighed. But his face suddenly brightened as Jess and Nina returned from their inspection. "So, what do you think? Is this the one?"_

_"It's a good use of space," Nina replied. "And we like the way the storage area is set up."_

_"We'd need more refrigeration units, but there's room for them." Jess came over and put an arm through mine. "Why don't we go see the other place and then we can decide."_

_"__Absolutely," Ricky held the door open for the three of us and locked up behind us. We got back in his car, and he drove a few miles north, out of the city. He pulled into a complex containing a mixture of stores, restaurants and office space, as well as some buildings that looked like upscale condos. He parked the car in one of the two lots at either end of the complex. "It's in this section."_

_He led the way past several boutiques, a coffee shop, and a shoe store, turning in at the end of the row. The leftover sign on this one said, "Milo's Cafe."_

_Just inside the door was an area that must have been the actual cafe, complete with a few round tables and chairs. Through a door was a well-equipped kitchen with two huge refrigerators and three freezers, __sinks and even a couple of ovens__. __The back room held a few racks, two file cabinets, and a long table. _

_I could see the matching gleams in Jess and Nina's eyes. Something about this place appealed to them. I'll admit I thought it __might__ work for the kind of business they were starting._

_Nina scratched her head as she walked back through to the front. "We'll have to replace the tables and chairs __out here __with desks or something."_

_"Maybe we could keep a couple so we can do tastings for perspective clients," Jess suggested. _

_Her sister nodded. "Good idea."_

_I hated to throw a damper on things but felt I should say, "If you're getting the food from the restaurants you've contracted with, why do you need so many kitchen appliances?" _

_"__Sometimes we'll have to bring half-cooked food here to finish and assemble, especially when we're __using food from more than one place __for a job__," Nina explained. It made some sense._

_"But__ why would you have to do taste testings here?"_

_"__We can't very well do them at the restaurants. Again, we'll be offering food from six or eight different places and need a central location to meet with clients." Jess smiled at her sister. "I think this will do very well."_

_"If you've decided, we can go back to my office and work up the lease agreement." Ricky seemed anxious to close the deal._

_"Not so fast!" I held up a hand. "You haven't even mentioned an amount yet. How do we know we can afford this place?"_

_"We?" Jess smirked at me._

_"Alright, you." I pointed to her and then her sister. "It's not like price is no object. You're just starting out."_

_"Are you implying that we might not make it?" Nina's fists went to her hips._

_"No, no. Of course not." How could I get myself out of this one? Turn it back on Ricky, of course. "So, how much?"_

_He took the time to consult his iPhone. "They're asking __twenty-five thousand per month."_

_"Offer eighteen," I sai__d._

_Jess looked at me, then her sister, and finally Ricky. "T__wenty."_

_He shook his head. "I don't think they'll take less than twenty-thr__ee."_

_"How long has this space been on the market?" Nina asked._

_"How many square feet is this?" Jess a__dded. "The going price is eighteen to twenty dollars per square foot."_

_I __smiled, not surprised they'd done their homework._

_Ricky swallowed and looked at the information he had again. "It's been vacant only three months. And it's, uh, just under a thousand square feet." __He frowned because he could see they weren't about to budge. "I'll have to talk to the management company that's leasing the space, __the same one as the other place you saw today__. We can go back to the office and draw up your offer so I can submit it and see what they say, OK?"_

_Identical smiles appeared on Jess and Nina's faces. The trip back to __Ricky's__ office was made in silence. I don't know what the others were thinking, but I was formulating some questions to get __him__ to reveal __more about __w__hat might have happened between him and Francesca._

_Nina gave me the opening I needed when she finally said, "So, Ricky, are you married?"_

_Jess gave her a strange look, but I jumped in and replied for him, "Ricky's pining after a girl he met at the auto customizing shop."_

_"He is?" She looked __from __me to him. "You are?"_

_"Not pining, exactly. Unfortunately, she died before I even had a chance to get to really know her." We stopped for a light and he turned to Nina with a smile. "__She was almost as pretty as you." He sighed. "__Are you free?"_

_I could see she was debating whether to tell him the truth or not. "Well, I'm not seeing anyone exclusively right now," she replied._

_Wilson wouldn't be happy to hear that, but I expected she thought she could get Ricky to open up more if he thought he had a chance with her._

_"How about dinner tonight, then?" Ricky didn't miss a beat. __I guessed he thought Nina was more likely to date a cripple than Francesca might have been._

_Get yourself out of this one, Nina, I thought._

_She sighed. "I'm afraid I have a previous appointment."_

_"So you do have a boyfriend."_

_"Oh, no, it's with my uncle. I can't disappoint him."_

_Ricky frowned, but accepted that she was telling the truth._


	107. Chapter 107

_**Chapter 107.**_

_Back in the Locarno offices, Ricky had one of the clerks bring him the standard forms so that Jess and Nina could make their offer on their preferred property._

_"You might want to put in an offer on one of the others in case they don't accept this one," __Ricky__ suggested._

_"We'll take our chances." Nina's smile said she might not be available to join him for dinner, but he still had a chance with her._

_He gulped and accepted her decision. "I'll let you know tomorrow what the management company's response is. I hope they take your offer, because it's a perfect place for your business."_

_"Perfect," she agreed. _

_Once all the paperwork was done, we stood to leave. Ricky rose clumsily._

_"You don't have to come with us. We know the way." Nina held out a hand to shake his. "Thank you for taking the time to show us the places today, and yesterday, __too__."_

_He held her hand after shaking it, his eyes locked with hers. I would have bet he was smitten._

_We found our way out and down to the car. Once we were inside it Jess asked, "What did he say while we were inspecting the first place?"_

_"He talked a little about a woman he'd been interested in at the car place, a woman who was killed in an accident before he __built up the courage __to __ask__ her out. I'm pretty sure it was Francesca, but all he said was that she spoke with an Italian accent and knew the manager."_

_Nina settled into the back seat of my car. __"Where are we going now?" _

_"To the other car place, the one Jess thinks is where you were held."_

_"__Oh, right. So I can see whether it seems familiar to me."_

_"I also want to take a look at the photos in the office again. I don't think I saw Ricky's face or even Francesca's, but now I know what they look like."_

_"And who knows who else's mug you might see." Jess smirked._

_"Too true." The shop was half-way back to Princeton. I found it easily enough and pulled into the same space I parked in the last time we were there. They were still doing a big business in car customization. The front lot was crowded and we could hear the sound of the work being done in the back. No sign of the dogs. I wondered where they went during the day._

_Surprisingly, the salesman who'd talked to us when we were there before recognized me, or maybe it __was Jess, or even my car. In any event, he came out of the office smiling before we even reached the door. "You came back." __He sounded surprised._

_"Sure. I told you I was interested."_

_He nodded, but his gaze quickly shifted to the Giordano sisters and I could see the admiration in his eyes. "Ladies, would you like to have a seat in our waiting room while we take care of business?"_

_"I'm interested in what Greg's going to have done to his car." Jess __put her arm through mine. Her__ smile __was as smarmy__ as the salesman__'s__. I didn't remember his name but figured he'd tell us again._

_"Sure thing, little lady." He turned back towards the office. "Right this way."_

_We followed him into the office, and Nina immediately drifted off to look at the wall of photos. __I decided she could handle that as well as I could. __The salesman led us to a desk with the nameplate __reading Sal Finnegan._

_"So, where's your friend? The guy who was with you last time?" __Sal motioned for us to take the chairs across the desk from him. __He meant Wilson. _

_"Had to work."_

_Sal nodded understandingly. "So, what's it gonna be?"_

_"I was thinking a new paint job would spiff it up, and Jess here wanted me to add a racing stripe." I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Women, the things that turn them on."_

_"You've come to the right place, though. That's one of our specialties."_

_"Could we see where they do that stuff?" Jess' voice was higher pitched than usual. She was really getting into her role of the little woman. "Pretty please?"_

_"Sure. We can go around back and see the shop. I will warn you, the odors are pretty strong."_

_She giggled. "Nothing like the smell of men at work." She looked around for her sister. "Hey, Nina, wanna come with us and see the shop?"_

_"Would I!" Nina grinned. _

_Sal took us through a back door so we didn't have to go through the fence. The back of the place looked just as it had when I'd been there before._

_"C'mon into the shop." Sal walked toward the open doors and the sound__s__ and smells that greeted us were overwhelming, __so we stayed near the doorway__. Several men and a couple of women, too, were busy spraying paint on half a dozen cars. The colors ranged from a sedate black to iridescent shades of green and pink. One guy was taping the sides of a car._

_"He's preparing it for striping." Sal had to shout above the noises of a sander __close__ to us and a plane flying overhead._

_Nina looked up, a perplexed look on her face, then refocused on Sal and the people working on the cars._

_"As you can see, we have a large, accomplished staff. Whatever you decide to do, I can assure you the work will be top notch."_

_I nodded so he would think I agreed, but some of the spray painting looked sloppy to me. I wasn't sure I would trust my baby to this shop. "What else do you do besides cosmetic changes?"_

_"We can make some modifications, of course, like changing the sound system, but for engine customization and the like, we send customers to our place in Trenton."_

_Of course, I already had an appointment there, as I told Ricky, but I played innocent. "Trenton?"_

_"Yeah, it's called Custom Cars. The same guy owns both places."_

_"Someone from around here?" Jess piped up._

_"No, actually, he's from Italy. Palermo, I think. Name's Carlo Molino."_

_We all pretended that we never heard of him. I hoped that would prompt Sal to tell us more about him, but I guess that was all he knew._

_"Tony's the only one here who's ever met him. He rarely comes to the States."_

_"__Well, since he won't be working on my car himself, who cares who owns the place." I forced a chuckle._

_"Exactly." Sal was quick to agree. "So, shall we go back to my office and write up an estimate on what you want done?"_

_"Oh, honey, you promised we'd go look at a car for me before you decide what you can spend on your old clunker!" The whine in Jess' voice was brilliant. She knew just when to play her part._

_I rolled my eyes upward. "Women! Maybe next time I'm come back without 'em."_

_Sal insisted on giving me his card as we walked back through the office to the front of the place. _

_I was anxious to hear what Nina had to say about the sights, sounds and smells but had to wait until we got into the car. _

_She was bursting to tell me. The minute the car doors were closed, before I'd even driven out of the lot, she said, "This is it! Jess, you were right. The minute I smelled the shop, I knew. And that plane flying over, that was the clincher."_

_"Do you think we need Julio's confirmation?" Jess asked._

_"Can't hurt. I just __have to find a way to__ get him __here__ without putting the idea into his head that this is where you were held. We need him to come to that conclusion himself." I smirked. "And I'm afraid if I show up again, __I'll have to let Sal sell me a paint job."_

_"Nothing wrong with that," Nina said. _

_"Are you insulting my baby?" I pretended to be offended._

_"House, even you have to admit, this car has seen better days. A nice new paint job could make it look spiffy." Nina wasn't giving up easily._

_"I don't want it to look spiffy."_

_"How 'bout classic?"_

_"Says the owner of a BMW."_

_"That's __inherently __classic."_

_By then Jess was laughing her head off. To tell the truth, I was having a hard time keeping from laughing myself._

_"Let me think about how I can convince Julio to come with me." __I had some ideas, but had to pick the best one._

_"__He's home now, so he's probably available. Nina, are you going to go out with Ricky?" Jess asked._

_"If you think he knows more than he told House."_

_I shook my head. __"I doubt he knows much more, but there may be something he doesn't realize he knows. The more time any of us spends with him, the more opportunities there'll be for him to say something that might help."_

_"If the management company doesn't come down on the price, what are we going to do? Do you think it will help us get a good deal on the office property if I date Ricky?" __Nina sounded as if she was actually considering it.__ "I think I'd better prepare Wilson for it, if I do." _

_"It'll be more fun if he doesn't know." I smirked at her._

_"House, that may be how you operate, but Jim means too much to me. I...I won't go behind his back like that."_

_"I do it all the time and I've known him a lot longer."_

_Jess put a hand on my shoulder. "Greg, let Nina do what she thinks is best."_

_I smirked __again__. "Nina, did you see anyone you know in the photos on the wall at the auto shop?"_

_She sighed. "No. That was very disappointing."_

_"Why, did you think you'd spot a picture of Francesca with Ricky or someone else we know?"_

_"It was always a possibility."_

_We'd reached Nina's place. "You don't really have an appointment with Uncle Johnny __tonight__, do you?" Jess asked._

_"No, but I couldn't very well tell Ricky that I was having dinner with my boyfriend. That would have eliminated any possibility of dating him in the future."_

_"So you'll lie to Ricky but not to Wilson?"_

_She grinned at me as she got out. __"Yeah, I guess you can say that. __Thanks for coming with us today, House. I think we accomplished a lot."_

_"Glad to be of service. And thanks for confirming where you were held."_

_Jess and I watched her enter the building, then I drove on to __the hospital__. Nina was right: we'd accomplished a lot, learned more than we knew before. The only question was what it all meant._


	108. Chapter 108

_**FYI: We'll be going out of town for a few days next weekend, so I don't know when I'll be able to post the next chapter. But here's tonight's.**_

_**Chapter 108.**_

_As Jess and I walked from the parking garage to the hospital entrance, she asked, __"__What did you really think about the places Nina and I saw today?"_

_"They would both work, but I could see that you and your sister preferred the second one. The layout was probably better." I pushed the elevator button with my cane. "I have a good idea now what the two of you are looking for. If you can get it for a good price, I'd say go for it."_

_"Ricky's not a bad guy."_

_I shrugged. "He seems OK. Who knows? I expect he'll do all he can for you, especially if he thinks Nina will go out with him."_

_We took the elevator up to my office. The team was sitting around the conference table, looking at test results. __Even Taub was back. __I pushed the door open and strolled in._

_"What did you find?"_

_"__Hamill__ confirmed the slow development." __Chase handed me her report. "And we just got the results of Rogers' genetic tests."_

_"__So?"_

_"So, __there's a deletion in chromosome 22. That together with the other symptoms points to DiGeorge syndrome."_

_I smiled. It was a good diagnosis. __Unfortunately, t__here__'__s no cure for DiGeorge syndrome. _

_"__We've started to treat some of the symptoms and side effects," Thirteen said._

_I inclined my head. __"That's all we can d__o."_

_"We__ explained that to the parents, but I'm not __sure they accept it, or the fact that treatment will be necessary throughout the kid's life." _

_The door to the conference room opened, and the patient's father walked in. "Dr. House, I see you've decided to show up."_

_"My team's been keeping me up to date on your son, Mr. Collins." I smiled as I made a connection. "We have our diagnosis, one no one else made no matter how many times they examined Billy. And we've started treatment. It won't cure him, but it will make his life better, and yours, too." I watched his face as I spoke. Some of the mixture of annoyance and sadness diminished, but he still wasn't happy. "Who know__s__, perhaps some day he can join your company, help you manage half the real estate in the __Trenton-Princeton area."_

_Collins' eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "Do you always pry into the private lives and business of your patients' families?"_

_"As it happens, my sister and I went to see two of your properties today," Jess said. So, she noticed, too that the name of the owner of the management company was William Collins. "We made an offer on one of them, a store and office in the Fair Haven complex."_

_His eyes narrowed again. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"_

_She grinned. "Name's Jess Giordano. I've worked here part__-__time __on the statistics for a study the team worked on."_

_"S__o what do you want that property for?"_

_"My sister and I are starting a ca__tering business."_

_He frowned at her, a__nd yet__ I wondered how we could turn this connection to our advantag__e._

_Jess approached him. __"__Mr. Collins, I can't imagine how hard it is for you to have a child who's so sick. I hope you realize how much Dr. House and his team can do for your son. But I don't want that to influence your decision on our offer __one way or another__." _

_I wondered what she was doing, but had to go along with it. "Jess, I'm sure he's the kind of man who can separate his personal life from his business. __Y__our offer was fair."_

_Collins was curious enough to ask, "What did you offer?"_

_"__Two thousand__ a month. After all, it was less than a thousand square feet."_

_"__We're asking twenty-three hundred." Collins scratched the back of his neck. "How long a lease are we talking about?"_

_Jess glanced at me before replying. "A year to start. We can renegotiate after that, but we're determined to make it. Some great restaurants will be providing the food. We only need someplace to meet with clients and assemble the food for delivery to their homes or other places."_

_"__We might be able to accept twenty-two."_

_"__You know there might be better places than that one," I threw out. "And cheaper. Until you're established, you shouldn't be paying so much for office space."_

_Collins narrowed his eyes at me, then turned back to Jess. "Twenty-one, and that's final."_

_She gnawed at her lower lip. __"I noticed there were no desks in the front room. We'll have to buy at least one. And then there's the signage. We'll have to get rid of that ghastly one from the last business and __replace it with our own, one with our new logo."_

_"We do have standards for the signs we allow our tenants. I'll send you a copy." __Collins wasn't done negotiating._

_"__Does this mean we can have the premises for the two thousand?"_

_He__ sighed. "Oh, alright. But I'll want an eighteen month lease, guaranteed."_

_He turned and left the office, his original intention completely forgotten._

_"What was all that about?" Chase asked._

_"We're looking for __office __space for the catering business, and we saw two today that would work, both managed by Collins and his company."_

_"Sounds like you and Nina are serious about this business," Thirteen said. "I never thought you'd pull it off."_

_"Well, we haven't, not yet."_

_"But you will. There's no doubt in my mind." __Chase smiled at her._

_"Thanks, Chase."_

_"I suppose this means you won't be helping us with our statistics any longer." Foreman frowned._

_Jess shrugged. "The work on the hyperacusis study is over. You don't need me any longer."_

_"Speaking of which..." Chase pulled out an envelope from underneath a stack of files. "Our report will be published in the next issue of JAMA."_

_"__When did you get that?" Taub reached for the envelope but I beat him to it._

_"It came this morning. I didn't think anyone would mind if I opened it."_

_"How long have you known me?" I took out the single sheet of paper and read it quickly. _

_"I was waiting until everyone was here to tell you all about it," Chase said. _

_Foreman shrugged. "It's not the first time we've had articles published about our cases."_

_"But it is the first time we did a study that could have such far-reaching effects. And they're not only publishing the results of our study. It's the featured story for next month."_

_Foreman's eyes narrowed. "Let me see that." He held out a hand, but I wouldn't relinquish the paper to him._

_"I can confirm what Chase said." I folded the letter, put it in the envelope and pocketed it. I wanted to cheer, but not in front of the troops._

_"Well, we have to celebrate!" Thirteen said._

_Taub nodded. "No need for us to stick around here any more. The patient's diagnosed and his treatment started."_

_"__Carl__son's?" Thirteen suggested._

_"Sounds good. You coming, Taub?" Chase asked._

_"You go ahead. There's something I have to do first."_

_"Something to do with your trip to New York yesterday?" I'd been curious since I'd heard about that._

_His mouth dropped open. When he closed it he took a deep breath and let it out. "I knew I'd never keep it from you." __He sighed and looked around at the others. "I went to see Rachel, to ask for another chance."_

_"And she turned you down."_

_Taub grinned. "She said yes."_

_"You're kidding!" Foreman's astonishment rivaled my own. The woman must be a glutton for punishment. How many chances was she going to give the runt? Did she think he'd changed? _

_"She'll be moving back to Princeton in three weeks, since she had to give notice at her company and with her landlord."_

_Chase smiled and patted his shoulder. "I hope it works out for you."_

_"Your daughter must be getting big by now," Thirteen said._

_Jess had been watching the exchange and turned to me with a quizzical look on her face._

_"Taub's wife left him. She and his lover had daughters at about the same time."_

_"Taub?"_

_I nodded. "You wouldn't know it to look at him, would you?"_

_"__So, what was it you had to do instead of going to dinner with us?" Chase asked._

_"I have to start getting my place ready for them."_

_"That can wait for tomorrow. C'mon," Thirteen urged._

_"__Carl__son's, huh? You twisted my arm."_

_"Better than your nose."_

_"House, Jess, you coming with us?"_

_I shrugged and Jess answered for us. "Sure, why not."_

_"I'll call Ellie and see whether she can meet us there." Chase was pulling out his cellphone as he walked out._

_I rolled my eyes, wondering who else would join the party._

_Carl__son's wasn't far from the hospital, but we took separate cars. __It was a big place with a not so big parking lot and we probably should have carpooled. I took out my handicapped placard and pulled into a spot near the door, but the others had a harder time finding a space at that time of evening. _

_Jess and I went in and asked for a table for s__even__. "That'll take half an hour," the maitre d' told us. He looked at the bench near the door, but it was occupied by three elderly people. "You can wait at the bar."_

_That sounded good to me. There were even two seats next to each other. I ordered my usual bourbon and Jess got __a glass of __white wine. Chase and Ellie spotted us the minute they came through the door._

_"They're setting up a table for us." Jess told them when they came over. "Did either of you want a drink?"_

_"I think champagne would be in order," Ellie said. "Robert tells me congratulations are in order for the entire team."_

_Jess smiled at her. "You should be included in that. If Greg hadn't been so determined to diagnose Christopher, the study might never have been done."_

_"Jess is right." Chase smirked at me. "In fact, a lot of good things came out of his persistent search for you and for an answer for Chris."_

_But the good things weren't over yet. I still had a puzzle or two to solve, and who knew where that would lead._


	109. Chapter 109

__We're back from our weekend trip and I've had a chance to edit this chapter. Hope you enjoy.__

_**Chapter 109.**_

_We were finally seated half an hour after we arrived. Even Taub was there by then. I guess __the amount of preparation he was willing to do__ for Rachel and the rugrat's arrival didn't take so long._

_"Is this one of the restaurants providing food for your new company?" he asked Jess __as we took our places around the large round table._

_"No." She looked around. "Although maybe we'll add it in the future." __The place looked very modern, with clean lines to the furnishings and walls painted a soft white. The lighting was hidden in the ceiling and the noise level less than in many other restaurants._

_"Robert told me you've found office space." Ellie's interest was intense, understandable since she'd be working with the sisters._

_"Yes. Wait until you see it!" __Jess waved her hands as she described it. Very Italian.__ "There's a front office with room to do taste tests with clients and a full kitchen and storage areas. And it's located not too far from any of the restaurants we've contracted with."_

_"That's so exciting! I'm glad you and Nina will be able to pull it off."_

_"Well, that's yet to be seen, but we think we can. __And we know you'll be a big help.__"_

_Ellie shrugged. __"__I'm only a waitress. You and Nina are doing all the work. __Your father would be so proud of you."_

_"If he knew about it. Maybe." Jess shook her head. "None of us ever knew what he'__d__ approve of and what he wouldn't. Ellie,__you __of all people__ know what kind of man he is."_

_"Yeah." Ellie grinned. "And we're all better off away from him."_

_W__ouldn't you know it, just as she said that, who should appear as if on cue, but Mr. Peter Giordano Senior. Several mouths fell open including, I'm almost ashamed to admit, mine._

_"Well, well, well. Isn't this an interesting group." His voice was so loud __and the restaurant so quiet, __the people at the nearby tables turned to look. _

_"Hello, Father." Jess regained her composure quickly. "I didn't know you were in Princeton." _

_"__My children are all here, so I am too."_

_I had a sinking feeling and could only imagine how Jess felt. "__Are y__ou planning to stay?" I wasn't sure any of us was ready for the answer to that._

_"Why, Dr. House? Did you have a reason I shouldn't?"_

_I could think of hundreds, but then I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of an honest answer from me. "How could Dorsey ever get along without you?"_

_He waved a hand. __"It's not that far away. I can manage my businesses from here."_

_Jess looked at me with doom written across her face._

_"Yes, well, I'm sure that'll keep you busy." And out of your daughters' hair and business, was left unsaid._

_"I understand you've met my brother." Giordano dismissed me and focused on his daughter._

_"He has a wonderful restaurant and we've eaten there a few times. __The food is delicious.__"_

_"And he's taken you and your sister, maybe even your brother, under his wing. The benefactor, Giovanni Giordano. Willing to __accept__ everyone but his brother."_

_Did __he resent his brother more than we knew, especially Johnny's growing relationship with his daughters? How could we use that? My team was silently watching him. I knew none of them would tell him anything about Jess and Nina's plans for the future, __but that didn't mean he wouldn't find out somehow__._

_"So, are you going to work for him?" Giordano asked._

_"No, I'm not."_

_"Then how are you supporting yourself? __Dr. House told me you want to be out from under my control, but what about my financial help? He convinced me to release your__ trust funds, __so I know you could use the money, __but __i__t won't last forever."_

_"We'll manage. All of us." Jess grinned. "I told you before that we don't need you."_

_Our waiter came to take our orders and Senior walked off without saying goodbye._

_Ellie leaned over the table toward Jess. "Did you have any idea he was in town?"_

_Jess shook her head. "I wish I knew how to force him to leave."_

_"Just ignore him," I advised. "He's not going to ruin your life or anyone else's."_

_"__You told me he wants to make up for all he did in the past. So why didn't he just say that __instead of challenging me__?" Jess asked. She looked around to see where he sat. "__Should I go talk to him?"_

_"I thought you said you want him to leave town. You can't have it both ways."_

_She grimaced._

_"None of us are going to tell you what to do, Jess." Thirteen put a hand on hers._

_"None of you except my boyfriend, you mean." She glared at me._

_I shook my head. "It's your decision all the way. __Y__ou'll __just __have to deal with any consequences."_

_"No pressure, huh?" She smirked._

_Our food came and she busied herself with eating, but periodically she glanced toward the table near the door where her father sat alone. __I wondered if she even tasted her food._

_Mine was delicious, a juicy fillet mignon, baked potato topped with sour cream and chives, even the green beans almondine. I savored every bite. "You really should consider adding this restaurant," I told Jess._

_"Hmmm?" She looked at me as if she hadn't heard a word._

_"Jess, go talk to him," Ellie urged with a smile._

_Jess looked at me, then everyone else at our table. __S__he put her napkin on the table and stood. "I'll be right back."_

_"Should we call out the mounties if you aren't?"_

_She smiled at me briefly, then walked to her father's table. _

_I tried not to think about what they were saying while I ate the last of my food, but suddenly it didn't taste as good._

_"She'll be OK." Chase took a dinner roll and buttered it. "She's handled her father before without your help."_

_Thirteen nodded. "With him here in town, she probably thinks she needs some sort of closure. Then she can move on to a different sort of relationship with him."_

_"A relationship of equals." That idea made me smile. "Yes, I believe __that's what she wants."_

_Jess returned. She was neither smiling nor frowning. "Well, that was interesting. He seemed to have the i__mpression__ that I __probably got__ a job with an accounting firm in Princeton, and I didn't disabuse him of his belief."_

_"Isn't that what you would have done if you and Nina hadn't decided to start a new business?" Taub asked._

_She smiled. "I guess so."_

_"__So, what did you tell him?" Taub asked._

_"That he should be proud that I could make it on my own."_

_I nodded. "He should."_

_"He said he __was__."_

_"But?"_

_"I got the __sense__ he expects me to come running back to him when I fail, __and that will happen__ within the next few months."_

_"Did you disabuse him of that too?"_

_"I tried, but he's always been pigheaded. I'll just have to prove myself." She swallowed. "You know, even if he's never proud of me, I'll be proud of myself, and isn't that more important?"_

_I kept quiet and let the others confirm what she said. She knew already how I felt, but it was important for her to hear it from someone else, especially so many someones._

_"So what's your father going to do here in Princeton? He doesn't have any businesses here __and much as he said he'll be managing his Dorsey businesses from here, I expect he'll be doing something else__."_

_"I think he want's to go into competition with his brother. Guess he has the need to prove himself." Jess shrugged. "After all the years, as successful as he is, it still rankles that his family __turned their backs on him."_

_"Doesn't he realize he'll be a small fish in this big pond?" Chase asked. "He should stay in Dorsey where he's the big Kahuna."_

_"You'd think! Guess it wasn't enough for him." I took Jess' hand. "So he's going into the restaurant business?"_

_She suddenly started to laugh. "Yes, and nothing, but nothing, will get me and Nina to work with him, no matter what kind of restaurant or how successful it is."_

_"Do you think he has a chance to be successful?" __Taub asked._

_"He's always succeeded, whatever he tried," she replied._

_Ellie nodded. "He owns half the businesses in Dorsey."_

_"__But if his sole aim is to beat Johnny in the restaurant business, he __have a rough time of it__."_

_Jess nodded. "That's what I'm afraid of."_

_"__Jess, don't feel obligated to help him if he stumbles," Ellie said._

_"Oh, I won't. I might occasionally worry about how he'll take it, but that doesn't mean I feel any obligation toward him."_

_"You're assuming __he'll fail, or at least have a hard time of it, but with his experiences, I think he'll do just fine."_

_"Maybe not as fine as Uncle Johnny, though." Jess shrugged. "Talking about this won't change anything."_

_"And now that that's settled, let's get back to this celebration. How about some dessert?"_

_Ellie and Foreman begged off, patting their bellies and claiming they were too full, but the rest of us finished off our meal with an assortment of rich treats. I ate all of my cheesecake, including the strawberry topping, and finished Jess' lava cake. _

_Senior was gone by the time we left the restaurant. I knew he'd be at the back of Jess' mind, but she had other things to concentrate on._

_"__I hope we hear from Collins tomorrow," Jess said as we got into the car in the restaurant parking lot. "We need to move on to our next steps."_

_"Which are?"_

_"Arranging insurance, buying equipment, hiring staff besides Ellie and Petey, advertising and lining up customers, and so much more." She ticked them off on her fingers._

_"I knew you thought this through." I smiled at her, then concentrated on driving home. _


	110. Chapter 110

__Things are coming together, even more so in this chapter. __

__Thanks for reading. I'm loving your comments.__

_**Chapter 110.**_

_The phone woke us the next morning. Usually, early calls came from the hospital for me, but this one was from a Trenton number._

_"Hello?" Jess voice sounded more awake than I was. The smile that spread across her face told me it was good news. "__When can we sign the paperwork?" She listened and at the same time motioned for me to hand her the pad and pen that sat on my nightstand. "We'll be there. Thanks, Ricky."_

_She hung up and the excitement that she'd held back burst from her. "We got it! Collins told Ricky to set up the paperwork and we can sign off on everything late this afternoon. I have to call Nina!" She grabbed her phone again and punched in the number for her sister._

_Watching her enthusiasm made me realize how much she wanted this. My own feelings surprised me. Or maybe her excitement was catching._

_"This is so great!" She grabbed my hands in hers and started bouncing up and down __on the bed__._

_I had to laugh. "Jess, OK, you're happy. That doesn't mean you have to get silly about it!"_

_She threw her arms around me. "I just feel soooo good! I can't help it."_

_I cupped her face with my hands, kissed her lightly, and pulled out of her clutches. "I've gotta get to the hospital." __I swung my legs off the bed and stood slowly.__ "What are you going to do until you and Nina have to meet Ricky?"_

_"I thought I'd check out that restaurant supply store on Grant, see whether they have any of what we need. It'll save us ordering everything online." __Jess got up too._

_"They won't have linens already imprinted with your logo."_

_"No, but there's a place nearby that can do that for us. All we need are the pink napkins and cloths."_

_"Pink?" I scrunched up my nose. "You're not going to use pink, are you? What's wrong with white?"_

_"White is too common and it stains faster than anything else. Trust me, this will be great." She smirked. "You haven't even seen the graphics we're using."_

_I wondered if she wanted my opinion. She and Nina seemed to be sold on what they'd come up with. "Show me."_

_She found her purse __on her night stand __and took out a piece of paper. When she unfolded it, I had to laugh. With a company name like The Movable Feast, I'd expected a depiction of a cart on wheels __loaded with food. Instead, they'd gone whimsical. The logo looked like a __chorus __line of chops, potatoes, wedges of cheese, and sausages, __walking __on legs._

_I chuckled. __"I still don't understand why pink, __though__."_

_"__Originally we thought a beige or tan, but the food wouldn't show up as well." __She tapped the potatoes._

_"Pale yellow might be good. __Or a light blue.__"_

_Jess tilted her head. __"__Hmm, we'll think about it." __She led the way to the kitchen, dropped some bread in the toaster and poured us each a cup of coffee from the programmable coffeemaker._

_I sipped __"Did you want me to go with you and Nina this afternoon?"_

_"I don't think that'll be necessary. Besides, I thought you wanted to arrange to take Julio to see the auto shop."_

_I nodded. That had been the plan. But __ever __since Jess and Nina were abducted, I __had__n't want__ed__ her out of my sight for long. Still, what could happen while they were visiting the Locarnos' office in Trenton?_

_"__I guess we can meet up afterward."_

_"Sounds good."_

_We finished our breakfast, showered and dressed. _

_"Give me a call when you're finished with Ricky."_

_She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. "See you later."_

_I went to the hospital and made my presence known to my team. They sat in the conference room, still pumped about the publication of the article about the study. It wouldn't hurt to have them all in a good mood for a day or two._

_"What did Collins decide to do about the property Jess and Nina wanted?" Chase asked._

_"They'll be signing the lease this afternoon."_

_He grinned. "That's good."_

_"__How's the Collins kid?" __I__ asked._

_"Stable." Thirteen handed him a readout of the boy's latest counts._

_"Then I guess I won't be needed here today."_

_"You going with the sisters?"_

_I__ shook __my__ head. "I've got bigger fish to fry."_

_Thirteen's eyebrows shot up. "Does Jess know about that?"_

_My__ lips quirked. "Absolutely." __I__ handed the paper back to Thirteen, rose and strolled out without another word._

_I__ drove to the apartment building where Julio lived, expecting the young man was home. __He was recovered enough to go back to work, but the Melting Pot didn't open until lunchtime. The earliest he'd be going in was ten thirty or eleven._

_Julio wasn't alone. Tina sat at the small table, her head bent over a textbook. She looked up when Julio ushered me in and smiled. "Julio's helping me with my math."_

_"__What are you doing here, Doctor?" the young man asked._

_"I thought you might like to come with me. I have to bring my car into the shop for some work, and I'll need a ride afterward."_

_Julio's forehead puckered. "Don't you have to be at the hospital?"_

_"We diagnosed our patient, so I can take an hour or so off."_

_"Well, I have to be at the restaurant in..." He consulted his watch. "...forty-five minutes."_

_"Call __your boss and tell him you'll be a little late. You can even tell him you're helping me."_

_"Why can't Jess go with you?"_

_"She and her sister are going to Trenton to sign a lease on some office space." __I didn't have to tell them that they were going to Tina's brother's office._

_Julio shook his head. "I still don't understand why you're asking me of all people."_

_"You worked at the shop, didn't you? I want to make sure they're not doing something __to my car that __they shouldn't, __and they don't charge me more than they should__."_

_"__Oh, Julio, why don't you do it?" Tina asked._

_He rubbed his eyes. "OK, I'll call Mr. Bertoli. Depending on what he says, I'll decide."_

_"Fair enough." _

_I watched him call his boss. We could only hear his side of the conversation, but basically he repeated what I'd told him to say. _

_He smiled at me. "Bertoli was only too happy to have me do whatever I had to help you. You must have made quite an impression on him. He's usually pretty demanding that we put in our hours."_

_"Well, then, let's be on our way."_

_"First I have to finish helping Tina with her math."_

_"It's OK. I think I've got it now." She smiled at him. "Go with Dr. House." She packed up her books and left with us._

_Julio __followed me to the customizing shop. I parked in what was becoming my spot, and he parked next to me._

_"It's been a long time since I was here," he said._

_I hoped he'd soon realize it hadn't been that long after all. We walked to the office. The salesman I'd talked to previously wasn't there. That was good, it would make what I was about to do easier. The young man who approached us was tall with blond hair and blue eyes. I hadn't seen him before. "I was in yesterday and spoke to __Sal. I don't see him." I made a show of looking around the office, partly to cover the fact that Julio was looking around at the salesmen and the photos on the wall._

_"It's his day off."_

_"Darn." I slapped my left knee, hoping I wasn't laying it on too thick. "Well we were talking about changing out the engine on my car, maybe some other things."_

_Dollar signs lit up in his eyes. "Maybe I can help you instead. What was the name again?"_

_I hadn't given it to Sal, so there couldn't be a record of what we'd discussed. "Names House."_

_The young man sat down at a desk and typed something in. His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "There's no order here." Suddenly he smiled. I guess he realized that if Sal hadn't recorded anything, the sale could be his._

_Julio came over and tapped my arm. "I think I'll go out back and see if I see anyone I know from when I worked here."_

_"You worked here?" the young man asked._

_"Yeah. I left several months ago."_

_One of the men I'd met on my first trip remembered Julio, but the staff at this place seemed to turn over frequently. "Sure, go ahead." Maybe being in the shop would jog his memory, not of when he'd worked there but of when he, Jess and Nina were held by their abductors._

_"And while he's renewing acquaintances, perhaps I can write up your order. Name's Pat by the way. Pat Dolan."_

_I sat down across from him. "So, what do you suggest I do?" __I wanted to keep him talking as long as possible to give Julio more time in the shop._

_Dolan went on and on about souped up engines and oversized tires._

_"What about he fuel economy on one of those? Do I have to change the exhaust system, too?" I pretended to be adding up the cost in my head._

_Dolan assured me that whatever had to be done would be included in the package he was putting together for me. His patter was slick, and I could see he was an effective salesman. But when I saw Julio returning, I cut him off._

_"So what's all this gonna cost me?"_

_He quoted an astronomical price. I didn't have to feign shock. The rude sound I made with my lips must have clued him in that he'd gone too far. "Well, we can cut out some of the unnecessary stuff and get the price down."_

_"I'll have to think about it." I rose, making a show of using my cane. "Guess I'll have to come back again after I think this over." I called to Julio. "We're outta here."_

_As we left the office, he asked, "Aren't you going to leave your car?"_

_"Not at these prices," I said loudly._

_Before we got into our cars for the drive home, Julio eagerly told me, "There's something familiar about that shop, and I don't think it's from when I worked here before. They've changed some things around, but there's an odor. I could swear it smells just like the place I was held with Jess and Nina."_


	111. Chapter 111

__Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. Now that Camp NaNo is over, I should have more time to work on future chapters.____

__Thanks for reading and favoriting me and this story.__

_**Chapter 111.**_

_"So, Julio also recognized the shop as the place we were held?" Jess perched on the couch that evening, one leg underneath her._

_I nodded. "It was the smell that did it for him."_

_"I wonder where they would have taken us during the day when the mechanics were there."_

_"They would have found some place, but I don't think they were planning on holding you for long."_

_She nodded. __"Because they demanded the ransom right away."_

_"And they asked for so little."_

_She sighed. "That still doesn't explain why they took us in the first place. Are we sure it was Julio they were after?"_

_"How could they know who you were? And besides, they didn't demand a ransom __from your father or even your uncle." I smiled. "And another besides, you had no connection to anyone at the car shop."_

_She clutched a thro__w__ pillow to her chin and nodded. "Is it possible that none of us was the target?"_

_"No. __Julio was the one they were after.__ They contacted Julio's boss for the ransom, so they knew who he was. And he did have a prior connection to the shop."_

_"A shop owned by __Carlo Molino."_

_"It comes back to him, doesn't it? And his wife's death. I speculated early on that Julio was abducted to frighten him into retaliating against the Locarnos, but maybe he learned something and it was more to __frighten him into __keep__ing__ quiet." __I shook my head over the conflicting thoughts._

_"What do you think he learned?"_

_"That Molino had something to do with Francesca's death." __I was almost certain of that._

_She squeezed the pillow. __"You've mentioned that before as a possibility, but never had any evidence."_

_"I still don't, __but I'm more convinced than ever.__"_

_"__So why would he send Julio after the Locarnos? And what would kidnapping him achieve? __Even if Julio found proof that Molino had his wife killed, why would his abduction keep him from telling __anyone?__"_

_"That's what I still don't understand." I put my arm around her shoulders. "At least everything's working out for you and Nina."_

_She grinned. She'd been grinning a lot that evening, ever since she and her sister signed the lease for their new office space. "I think we'll be able to start serving customers in less than a month. If we have any customers."_

_"How can you doubt that now?"_

_She kissed my cheek. "Of course I don't."_

_"So what color did you decide on?"_

_She chuckled. "I bet you've been wondering about that all day."_

_"__Well?"_

_She cleared her throat. "Nina still wanted the pale pink we'd talked about but I convinced her otherwise. We went to the restaurant supply store on Atlantic and checked their stock. The fabric had to be the kind that would take the imprint of our logo."_

_"I don't need chapter and verse. Cut to the chase."_

_"We decided on a pale blue linen." She pulled away from me and stood. "Wait a minute. I want to show you one. We had a sample printed."_

_She wasn't gone long. When she returned, she held a large square __of fabric__. Imprinted diagonally across the light blue were the walking __edible__s of their logo and the words '__A Movable Feast' __in script__. It was quite professional looking. "__What do you think?" Her eyes were eager for my approval._

_"Not bad." __I forced my mouth into a straight line but I'm sure my eyes were smiling._

_"__Not bad? __That's all you can say? __It's brilliant!__"_

_"__Well, if you're sure of that, why'd you even ask me?"_

_"Why indeed." She tried to scowl, but ended up snickering._

_"What else did you get?"_

_"Tablecloths in the same blue. They'll be imprinted too. And dishes, white with a silver rim they promised won't come off in the dishwashers. I didn't find any flatwear that looked good enough." She shrugged. "I guess I'll have to look somewhere else. Oh, and some glassware that looks like good crystal."_

_"But it's not?"_

_"Not at that price. Tomorrow, Nina and I will see what we can find in the way of appliances."_

_"There are already refrigerators and ovens at the office."_

_"We'll need some other things, even if the food is prepared at the restaurants."_

_"If you say so." _

_"This is so much more fun than keeping my father's books! I can't wait until we start meeting with clients."_

_"How are you going to let people know you're open for business?"_

_"We'll start with an ad in the local paper and on the local news. Nina thinks we should see whether we can post something at the hospital, but I don't really want to do that."_

_"I think you're right." What she said prompted another possibility. "What about advertising in some way at the restaurants that will be providing the food?"_

_"That's a great idea! I don't know why we never thought of it."_

_I wiggled my eyebrows. "Guess I'm good for something."_

_"You're good for a lot of things, Dr. House." She threw her arms around my neck and smacked my lips with hers. __But she was still focused on what I'd said. "We can have business cards at the hostess desk and possibly signs. I guess each restaurant owner will have to agree to that, but since they'll be getting a cut of any catering we do using their food, I'm sure they won't mind promoting our business."_

_That was one of the things I liked about her. She was quick to realize the implications of every action she took._

_"Any other brilliant suggestions?" She grinned at me, her hands around my neck pulling my head closer for another kiss._

_"Gimme time. I know I'll come up with a few."_

_"I don't doubt that!" She let go of my neck and snuggled against my shoulder. "Greg, thanks."_

_I brushed a few brown hairs off her forehead. "What are you thanking me for?"_

_"I don't think I could have gotten this far without your support."_

_"Don't sell yourself short. I'm just along for the free food I see in my future."_

_"Free food?"_

_"What else will you do with the leftovers besides feed them to your boyfriend?"_

_She playfully slapped at my chest with her hand and smirked at me. I caught the hand and planted a kiss on the palm. One kiss led to another, and another. Soon __we'd stood __up from the couch __and __I was tugging at her shirt, then pulling it over her head, kissing the swell of her breasts above the top of her bra. __Kissing her naval. I could see she was getting into it, so I continued lower, while she reached around to push up my T-shirt and massaged my back with her magic hands._

_Before long, our clothes were strewn all over the couch and floor and our hands and lips had the access we needed __to stir sensations. I stopped occasionally to __marvel at__ her lovely figure, her firm, full breasts, her narrow waist and curvy hips. __And then there was the admiration in her eyes as she looked at me. Talk about turn-ons! I could feel my body respond._

_"Bedroom?" she whispered. She took my hand and we hurried to the bed, falling on it together before resuming our foreplay. That didn't last. In a short while, we joined, our hearts racing, our breaths coming in gasps. __It didn't stop the kissing and caressing, at least not right away, not until we neared the pinnacle and the only thing that mattered was reaching and prolonging it._

_Afterward, snuggling replaced the touching as our hearts and breathing returned to normal. "I don't think I'll ever get enough of you." Jess nibbled my right ear._

_"That's good," I muttered into her sweet-smelling hair._

_We both fell asleep after that, at least I did and I think Jess did too. When I woke hours later, my arms were empty, but she was still there, next to me. I slipped out of bed, used the bathroom and returned to find her snoring softly. When I smiled and stretched out again, sleep didn't come so easily. There were too many things whirling around in my mind. Usually it was occupied with working out a medical mystery, but lately I'd been studying a puzzle of a different sort. My well-honed analytical abilities hadn't been able to reach a clear solution, only theories and conjecture, and not a whole lot to support any of them._

_I knew more than I did at the start, much more. But a lot of it didn't make sense. If I'd been dealing with symptoms and a medical history, I would have a better idea of how to approach the problem of proof, what to do next. __Jess had raised some of the questions I still had. If Molino was behind the kidnapping, what was his motive. In fact, what were his motives for anything he did? I'd never met the man, only knew what others told me about him. There was little chance I'd ever meet him, yet getting the measure of the man might give me some more insight into what he'd done and why._

_I finally fell asleep again, thinking of wild and crazy ways I could accomplish that. __But in the morning I was no closer to figuring it out than I had been. It was as if something was blocking a part of my brain._

_"Greg?" Jess snuggled close. "You look worried or maybe confused."_

_"Only stymied." I looked at her and brushed a strand of hair away so I could kiss her cheek. "If you wanted to get to know someone who was across the ocean without traveling to where they were, how __would you do it?"_

_She shrugged. "Get them to come to me."_

_I grimaced. Yes that was the way to go, but how could I get Molino to come to New Jersey? And then how could I get to meet him?_


	112. Chapter 112

__House is finally putting two and two together. Whether he'll get four remains to be seen.__

__Thanks for reading and ____leaving such wonderful comments.__

_**Chapter 112.**_

_It seemed strange to spend an entire __morning__ at the hospital. We didn't have a new patient and I had all the time in the world to ponder my next moves on the Molino front. Could I get Julio to tell me what he found out? That would be a start. _

_At noon, I dragged Wilson to the Melting Pot. I didn't have to twist his arm, or even offer to pay, so technically I didn't drag him. And we went in his car._

_Bertoli was conferring with the lunchtime hostess when we entered. He greeted me as a long-lost friend. "Dr. House! It's been over a week since you were here last. And Dr. Wilson, isn't it?" He turned to the hostess. "Amanda, take these two gentlemen to one of our best tables, and their meal is on the house." He laughed heartily. "On the __H__ouse, get it?"_

_"It's better than on the Wilson, the way it usually is," my friend muttered as we followed the slim woman with the shapely legs to a side table._

_"Har, har." I rolled my eyes. Everyone's a comedian._

_"__Why are we here?" Wilson beat a tattoo on the table as he looked around the restaurant._

_"To eat fondu."_

_"I know it's not your favorite lunch."_

_"Who says?"_

_He shook his head. _

_A waiter brought tall glasses of ice water and a basket of rolls. "What would you gentlemen like today?"_

_I hadn't even looked at the menu. One thing stood out when I glanced at it. "The Teriyaki-marinated sirloin." __My mouth watered just from saying it._

_"Sounds good." Wilson nodded and shut his menu._

_"Copycat!" It was a reflex, honed over the years. I didn't care what he ordered._

_"Very good." The waiter probably would have said the same thing if we ordered a hot dog._

_Wilson waited until he was halfway across the room. "So? Why are we here?"_

_"I was hungry."_

_"There are dozens of other restaurants we could have gone to, why this one?"_

_I knew he wouldn't give up until I gave him an answer that would satisfy his curiosity._

_"I want to talk to Julio."_

_"Didn't you see him yesterday? Couldn't you call him?"_

_I looked around and lowered my voice. "I had to see him in person."_

_"And meanwhile get a free meal out of Bertoli."_

_I grinned. "__Something wrong with that?"_

_Wilson busied himself with a roll, tearing it apart, biting and chewing it._

_"What?" __I knew there was something on his mind, and eventually he'd tell me._

_He swallowed. __"As long as I know you, I'll never understand why you do the things you do."_

_"That sounds like a __cheesy __song lyric. And you do understand me, or at least as well as anyone except maybe Jess. __I'm following up on a theory about why Julio and the __Giordano __sisters were kidnapped. Don't you want to know that?"_

_"Well, of course I do."_

_"Then let me do whatever is necessary to get to the bottom of it."_

_He seemed to think that over "So what's your theory?"_

_I __explained __what I'd been thinking. "If Julio tells me what he learned that led to the abduction it'll go a long way to explain the entire situation."_

_"__Maybe he knows whether Molino will be coming to New Jersey sometime soon. He could introduce you."_

_I hadn't thought of that, but couldn't tell him so. Instead, I said, "That's what I'm hoping."_

_Our food came, artfully arranged on the plate. It was as delicious as it sounded __and looked__, even without the dipping sauces, but they added a pungency, a kick, and left my mouth feeling very happy._

_Wilson must have shared my opinion. "We should come here more often."_

_"I hope this is on the girls' catering menu." I didn't want to let go of the taste of the steak, but remembered the place had fantastic deserts, all sorts of cake and fruit that you dipped in hot chocolate __fondu__. We decided to share one of their largest platters and spent the next half hour immersing morsels and watching the deep brown __sauce__ drip from them on the way to our mouths._

_Bertoli came by before we finished. He put a hand on my shoulder. "How are you gentlemen enjoying your meal?" His smile indicated that he knew we'd answer positively._

_"The food's fantastic!" Wilson never could hide his enthusiasm._

_As casually as I could, I asked, "Is Julio around today?"_

_"Yes, he's in the office, I think. __Working on the taxes. All morning, h__e__'s been going on and on about how__ much the auto shop changed since he worked there."_

_"I guess there was a turnover in personnel."_

_Bertoli nodded. "Every business is like that. You can't always keep the best people."_

_I'd found the same with doctors, but Bertoli __wasn't interested in __hear__ing__ about that. "Julio tells me he's much happier working here."_

_That brought a smile to his face. "He also said that the shop smelled like the place he and the young ladies were held. Is that right?"_

_"I believe so. Jess and Nina said something similar."_

_"Well, I'll be." Bertoli didn't sound as surprised as I'd expected._

_I ignored Wilson's wide open eyes and mouth. "We're still trying to find out what the connection is."_

_"Julio's cousin's husband owns it, doesn't he? Is that why you want to talk to him?"_

_"Something like that." I finally had to say it. "Wilson, you can close your mouth now."_

_"Should I send Julio out to you?" Bertoli asked._

_I rose. "It might be easier to talk to him in the privacy of your office."_

_"Sure. My office is your office, or words to that effect." Bertoli chuckled as he led the way back to the small room in the back. _

_Julio sat at the desk, entering data in the __ancient __computer. He looked up when __I walked in with__ Wilson and Bertoli, and grinned. _

_"Dr. House wanted to talk to you. I'll leave him here with you. The place is busy today and I'm one waiter short." Bertoli left us._

_"How can I help you, doctor? I've been thinking about yesterday and I'm certain now that was where __we were."_

_I nodded. "Bertoli said you've been talking about that. Who did you tell?"_

_"What? Oh, just my boss and __Luca."_

_"That's the other man who shares this office, right?"_

_"Yes. His title is office manager, but he does a little of everything. I'm surprised Bertoli doesn't have him waiting tables today."_

_"__Where is he, then?"_

_"Oh, he just stepped out for a few minutes. We've been working on the payroll and the quarterly taxes." Julio shook his head. "You don't care about any of that, do you? Why are you here? And why do you want to know who I told about the car place?"_

_"It's not really important." I waved his questions away. "I wanted to ask if there was something you'd learned about Molino recently."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"__Did__ Tina t__ell__ you something that made you realize that Carlo Molino had something to do with Francesca's death?"_

_He started and his eyes flew open. "What? No. That's impossible."_

_"Which part?"_

_"The part about Carlo. He loved her. Why would he want her dead?"_

_"He must have thought you believed he did. That's why he had you kidnapped." I realized what his denial meant. "__So, Tina never said anything." __That was one of the missing pieces.__ "__He must have learned that you didn't suspect him __after all __and decided to let you go. That's why the ransom was so low." __I still didn't know how Molino got his information, but the rest of it made some kind of warped sense._

_Obviously not to Julio. __"None of this makes any sense." __He__ rubbed his eyes and shook his head._

_"Doesn't it? Think about it. Molino arranges his wife's death. To shift blame from himself, he sen__ds__ you after the Locarnos who had nothing to do with...oh! __But t__hat's why he had her killed! He thought she was having an affair with Ricky Locarno."_

_"Tina's brother?" __Julio flinched._

_"Yes. __He admitted he had the hots for her." __I grinned at the way it was all coming together._

_"__Wow! I mean, I think Tina said something about a woman that Ricky liked. That was my cousin?" __Julio's eyes couldn't be wider._

_I nodded. "He never did anything about it, or at least that's what he told me. Have you ever met him?"_

_"Ricky? No. He's always busy. Tina says he's gung ho about his job, wants to prove himself. Oh, and he had a car accident a while back."_

_"It left him with damage to his legs, but that doesn't seem to be holding him back __from working his tail off, just from pursuing the ladies__. He found the perfect property for Jess and Nina's new business, __you know__."_

_"That's good. So he's a good guy?"_

_"__Seems to be."_

_Wilson had been watching our dialogue but hadn't said a word. "__House, your theory is sounding more and more far-fetched."_

_"That doesn't mean it's not what happened."_

_"So how do we prove it's true?" Julio asked._

_"That, my boy, is where you come in."_


	113. Chapter 113

_House initiates not one but two plots in this chapter._

_Thanks for reading and commenting._

_**Chapter 113.**_

_As I talked to Julio and realized he hadn't learned anything to incriminate Carlo Molino, a new plan formed in my mind. The only way to prove Molino's role in everything was to bring him to New Jersey and face him directly. "Is there any chance that Carlo is planning a trip here in the near future?"_

_Julio shrugged. "I don't think so, but I don't know anything about his plans. He does have businesses here, like the car shop."_

_"If you sent him a message, telling him that you'll need his help if you're going to get revenge for him against the Locarnos, would he come?"_

_Julio scratched his ear. __"He'd probably send Giancarlo."_

_"Who's that?"_

_"His right hand man." Julio's mouth twisted into a grimace. "I guess here you'd call him the muscle."_

_I looked at Wilson to see whether he was paying attention to the conversation. He was riveted._

_"__Doesn't Molino ever come here to inspect his interests?" I asked._

_"Maybe once a year. No more than that. He has too many other businesses back in Palermo."_

_I remembered something else that I'd wanted to ask him about. This was the perfect time. "If Francesca fled to the states, why is there a picture of her on the wall of one of her husband's auto shops? I understand she was friendly with the manager."_

_Julio shook his head. "Not the shop where I worked."_

_"No, the other one. That's where Ricky saw her." I watched his face._

_His dark eyes narrowed. "You're sure?"_

_"The picture of her is still there."_

_"__How do you know what she looks like?" He sighed deeply. "Looked, I mean. Sometimes I still have a hard time believing she's gone."_

_"__There was a picture of her in your apartment. A woman in a wedding gown."_

_"Yes, that was my cousin."_

_"You can come with us to the shop in Trenton, but I'm sure the woman in the picture there was the same one."_

_He shook his head, as if to force what I'd told him to make more sense. __Compressing his lips, he swallowed. "So you want me to lure Carlo to New Jersey."_

_I nodded. "He still wants you to complete the mission he sent you on, doesn't he?" That was clear from the messages that were on his answering machine when he was in the hospital._

_"Yes. I don't know how I can, though. I mean, how could I hurt anyone in Tina's family?"_

_"Especially now that you know they weren't responsible for Francesca's death."_

_He nodded slowly, looking down at the tops of his __leather loafers__._

_"Perhaps you can tell him you don't know which of the Locarnos to target." Wilson threw in his two cents. That's about all his idea was worth._

_"No, he already told me to go after Ricky and Marcello."_

_"Both? Whatever happened to 'an eye for an eye'?" I asked._

_"Carlo's Sicilian." Julio snickered. "He tends to go overboard."_

_"There has to be something that will lure him here." I leaned against the wall, tapping my cane on the floor. "Besides Francesca, what else does he care about?"_

_"__His empire, all the businesses he controls." _

_I nodded. __"So if something happened to the car shops, he'd come to investigate?"_

_"I guess. If he didn't trust one of his people here to take care of it." __Julio tapped a pen on the desk.__ "But what could happen to them? It would have to be major."_

_"Maybe a problem with the laws of New Jersey, or maybe a series of robberies." __Wilson nodded.__ "I agree it'll have to be something major."_

_"What's the worse thing that could happen at a place like that?" __I challenged._

_Julio didn't hesitate. "A fire."_

_"That's probably true, but it's also dangerous. Someone could get hurt." __Leave it to Wilson to worry about that._

_"What if he found out that someone was embezzling from him?"_

_"You're going to frame someone?" __Wilson's eyes narrowed._

_"Carlo always said that he never wanted to hear that he was losing business to someone else."_

_"Who are his competitors in this area?" __I wondered aloud._

_But none of us knew. It would take some research. I was sure we'd eventually find someone, but we didn't have that kind of time. "OK, how would you like to go into the auto detailing business?"_

_"Me?" Julio pointed to his chest as his forehead creased._

_"You've had some experience, but no, I think it'll have to be in another name. Molino won't be threatened if he thinks you're behind it. We're going to need some help with this, and I think I know exactly who would be the perfect person."_

_"Who?"_

_"Ricky Locarno."_

_I knew exactly when light dawned for Julio. A grin spread across his face. "__It's even logical for a former racer to open a performance shop. And I bet he knows of the perfect properties to set one up."_

_"The only hitch will be to convince him to do it." I drummed my fingers on the desk._

_Wilson stood straighter and motioned downward with his palms. "Whoa. Is he actually going to open a shop or are you going to plant stories that he's planning to?" He had a point, one worth considering._

_So I considered it. "We have to make it look real, even if it doesn't happen."_

_"And for that we'll need Ricky's cooperation. I think Tina can help." __Julio smiled at the thought._

_"But would she be willing to?" I asked._

_Julio grinned. I'd never seen such a wolfish look on his face. So, things were heating up between them, and why not? They were both young, good-looking and bright. "I think I can talk her into it."_

_Luca returned from wherever he'd been, cutting ou__r__ conversation short._

_"I'll call you once I've talked to Tina," Julio said._

_Wilson and I nodded and left. We had a plan to lure Molino to the states, but it needed some details ironed out. It was as much as I could hope for._

_Bertoli caught us before we left. "Did you and Julio have a good conversation?"_

_"Yes we did."_

_"Thanks again for lunch." Wilson was always more polite than I was. "We have to go back to the __hospital."_

_"Of course. I hope to see you both again soon." He held the door open for us and we left._

_"__Do you really think your plan will work?" __he asked as we drove back to PPTH._

_"Oh, ye of little faith."_

_"It depends on the cooperation of too many people."_

_"The Locarnos will go along with it." I grinned at him. "I've got a secret weapon."_

_"You do?"_

_I wasn't ready to share it with him, but it was enough to convince me this would __happen__. "Trust me."_

_"When have I heard that before?"_

_"Haven't I always been right."_

_"Well, most of the time." We'd reached the hospital but didn't even make it to our offices before we were accosted by she who thinks she's the boss of me._

_"Where have the two of you been?"_

_Wilson immediately returned her serious look. "Why? Is there some kind of crisis?"_

_"Well, no," Cuddy admitted. "But you two are the only ones I could vent to. There's been an attempt at a hostile takeover of the hospital."_

_"You've got an entire board to share this with. Why us?" I pushed past her to the elevator._

_"House, this is serious."_

_I pressed the button and turned to face her while I waited for the __elevator__. "And?"_

_"The board won't be able to come up with a way to get around this, but you can."_

_"I don't know what you think I can do."_

_"You can talk to your girlfriend."_

_"What does Jess have to do with it?" Now I was really confused._

_"It's her damn father who's trying to take over this place."_

_I kept my mouth and eyes from betraying my surprise, but Wilson wasn't as good an actor. "What does __Peter Giordano know about running a hospital?"_

_"Exactly. That's my point." __She stood there, hands on hips, waiting for me to speak._

_"Relax. I think it's part of his plan to convince his daughters that he's a good guy." To me that seemed the most logical motivation behind this sudden move._

_"After all he's done to them in the past?" Wilson frowned. "It would take more than running a hospital to do that."_

_"But if it's a hospital where you and I work, and he knows that his daughters are dating us, or at least that Jess and I are together..."_

_"It'll depend on what he has in mind for the hospital." Wilson's narrowed eyes showed he wasn't convinced._

_"Why don't we ask him?" I grinned as wolfishly as I could, taking out my phone and calling the man._

_He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"_

_"Mr. Giordano, I understand you're interested in investing in the hospital where I work."_

_"Word gets around fast in this town." His tone was strangely neutral._

_"I hope this means I have my job for life."_

_I think that took him by surprise, although I had no idea what he expected me to say. His voice sounded more tentative when he finally spoke. "I understand you're one of the best doctors there. Your skill and ability to bring in patients is an asset to the hospital."_

_"__Y__ou'll tell the administrator that, __won't you?__" I looked at Cuddy who watched me with a frown on her face. "She doesn't always appreciate my abilities."_

_"If I'm successful in my bid, I will definitely have a word or two with Dr. Cuddy."_

_"I'll hold you to that."_


	114. Chapter 114

_Thanks for reading and commenting._

_**Chapter 114.**_

_I couldn't wait to tell Jess about the latest development with her father. I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him, and considering he was as tall as I was and outweighed me by about fifty pounds, that wasn't far at all. Cuddy didn't have to know that, but Jess would._

_She answered right away. "What's up? Did you talk to Julio?"_

_That seemed so long ago, even though it was only an hour or so. "We're about to create a company to rival Molino's car shop empire, knowing he'll take the bait and fly over here to find out how he can stop it."_

_"Create for real or on paper?"_

_I smiled at her grasp of the situation. "That's to be determined. It'll depend on how cooperative your new friend Ricky is."_

_"What does he have to do with it?"_

_"He can provide the property and lend his name to the enterprise."_

_"I see you have this all planned out. Between Julio's experience at Molino's place, and Ricky's as a former racer, it wouldn't be much of a stretch."_

_"Exactly."_

_"You could have waited to tell me about this until tonight. There's something else going on, isn't there?"_

_I smiled again. "Your father's __hand__ showed up in the most surprising place."_

_"Huh?"_

_"He's attempting a hostile takeover of the hospital."_

_She gasped. __"PPTH? Wow, that is a surprise. Why would he do that?"_

_"To curry favor with his daughters for one. The other __reason __might be purely financial. Don't know, but I'm planning to find out."_

_"__My father doesn't know anything about running a hospital."_

_"He's not the first businessman who thought his management abilities were all that was needed." I tried not to think about the disaster that caused __in the past__._

_"He'll need to consult with someone who knows medicine. In all of his other businesses, he had advisers of one sort or another." She sighed. "And he had me to handle the financials, to keep the books and make sure we adhered to all the correct business practices __and tax laws__."_

_"So don't be surprised if he tries to hire you."_

_"Oh, no. I already told him I wouldn't work for him again. Besides, I have my own business to run now."_

_"He doesn't know that," __I reminded her._

_"Not yet." She laughed. "Wait until he finds out, although I kinda hoped it w__o__n't be until we were a roaring success."_

_"I guess we'll have to wait and see what he has planned." I would do all I could to be prepared, but I didn't want to assume too much. "You've worked with him in the past. I know he has a need to control things, but how much of a micromanager is he?"_

_"As I said, he relies on experts, but he does have his own ideas, and tends to impose them if there's any opportunity to do so. __Good luck.__"_

_I scratched my neck. This was going to be tricky. "We can talk about this more later. Right now, I have to check in with Julio to find out how far he's gotten with the car shop venture."_

_She laughed. "I wonder if we could interest my father in starting a car customization business."_

_"Instead of Ricky and Julio?"_

_"Sure. Why not? It would keep him busy enough that he wouldn't mess with the hospital."_

_"Now there's an idea. I'm not sure it's a good one, though, __since he doesn't know anything about detailing or souping up cars__. __I guess we can keep it on the back burner in case nothing else works out."_

_"He could back any business Ricky and Julio start."_

_"I'm sure Ricky has enough dough that he doesn't need it." We were getting into ridiculous territory. I looked up and saw my boss bearing down on my office. "It's been fun, but Cuddy's at my door and she's still on the warpath. I'd love to ignore her, but I don't think it's an option." _

_Jess laughed. "See you tonight."_

_I ended the call and __met the glare of__ the woman __in front of __me __with an enigmatic smile__. "I talked to Jess. There's nothing she can or will do about her father, but she made a few suggestions for __how__ I can __handle him__."_

_"What __kind of suggestions__?"_

_"Don't you want deniability? You know what sort of things I can get into." __I smirked at her. _

_Her hands went to her hips. "Don't I ever." She sneered. "__Alright. __Do what you can." Turning on her four-inch heels, she left as quickly as she arrived._

_I grabbed the ball on my desk and rolled it between my hands. I thought I finally had the answer to why Jess, Nina and Julio were kidnapped. Normally th__e answer to the puzzle__ would have been enough for me, but this time I wanted to prove __I was right __to everyone concerned. I didn't need the situation with Giordano and the hospital, and Cuddy, as well, to cloud the situation, __but that had to be dealt with, too__._

_The plan __Julio and I had__ come up with seemed like the way to go. __I called him on his cell. It took a while for him to answer._

_"Dr. House." He sounded excited. "I'm glad you called. A__n hour a__fter you left, I got a message from Carlo asking me to come back to Palermo. What do I do now?"_

_"Did he give you a reason?" __This could completely screw up our plans._

_"No, all he said was he no longer needed me to carry out the orders he gave me when I left."_

_"That sounds ominous."_

_"__Yeah, __I thought the same thing. Maybe he found someone else to attack the Locarnos. Dr. House, I have to warn them, Ricky and Marcello, no?" I'd noticed before that when he was upset, his accent became more pronounced, although his English was still good._

_"What did you tell Molino?" I didn't know how he could warn the Locarnos without explaining the situation, and that would be bad._

_"That I was in the middle of some things here and had to finish them before I could leave. He got very angry and told me my place was there, with my family, __but I finally convinced him I'd be able to leave in a couple of weeks__." _

_"Stay calm. We'll think of something __meanwhile__. You mentioned __earlier that there was __someone Molino usually asked to do his dirty work?"_

_"Yeah, yeah. __Giancarlo. __I'm afraid that's who he'll send to finish what I never even started.__"_

_"And you'd recognize him if he showed up?" I asked._

_"Well, yeah, but I can't hang around Ricky waiting for that to happen."_

_"Could you describe him?"_

_"You mean like the cops have people do? __So an artist can draw them? __Yeah, I guess so."_

_I was thinking as we talked. __"There are all sorts of reasons for Jess and Nina to be around Ricky and __maybe even Marcello. We might have to confide in Tina, too."_

_"Well, about that..." He sounded sheepish._

_"__Julio?"_

_"I kinda, that is, I may have, I mean, I mentioned something to her...Dr. House, I told Tina what we've been theorizing about Francesca's death and Carlo's part in it."_

_"And? What did she say?"_

_"Oh, she __was__ ready to do whatever we want her to, but..."_

_"Spit it out."_

_"__But then I told her __Carlo sent me after her family. She was very upset __about __hat, and she doesn't want to involve them in any of this."_

_"So she__'ll __still __help __you, __but won't__ convince Ricky to go along with our plan."_

_"Yeah. But if I'm going back to Palermo, then we're not going through with it, right?" There was all sorts of hope in his voice._

_"Sorry to burst your bubble. I still think we should lure Molino, himself, here. Perhaps if you warn Tina that he's sending this Giancarlo after her brother and uncle she'll be more cooperative."_

_"I wouldn't count on it."_

_"__She'll at least want to warn them. We can give her a copy of the picture."_

_"Do you know an artist I can work with?" he asked._

_I'd been thinking about that. I couldn't come up with one, but how hard would it be to find someone? "We'll come back to that. I guess we'll have to rely on Jess and Nina to get Ricky to agree to the auto shop."_

_"Can't we just use his name?"_

_"__We also need him to provide an appropriate property. No, I think he'll have to be aware of what we're doing." I reviewed what I knew about the man. What motivated him? If we told him the entire story, would he want revenge on Molino, enough to help us with our ruse? As a race car driver he was used to taking chances, but had his accident driven that out of him? "I think Jess and I will have to pay a visit to Mr. Ricky Locarno, sound him out, maybe convince him the best defense is a strong offense."_

_"You're going to tell him the whole story?"_

_"It might be the best way to get his cooperation."_

_"Oh." His voice sounded strangled, as if I'd just given him the worst news possible._

_"One more thing. If this doesn't work out, Jess and I have a back-up plan."_

_"You do?"_

_"Julio, you always have to have a back-up plan. I'd rather not use this one, but if we have to...how much do you know about Jess and Nina's father?"_

_"They've mentioned him, of course. I don't think I know much except that he tried to run their lives and now they don't have to depend on him anymore. What does this have to do with Mr. Giordano?"_

_"He's our back-up plan."_


	115. Chapter 115

__Let's see how House and Nina approach all the problems they're facing. __

_**Chapter 115.**_

_Julio and I finally agreed __that Jess and I could__ broach the plan we had with Ricky Locarno after telling him everything. There was always a possibility that he'd turn us down flat, but it was still our best option. __Jess and I would__ drive to Ricky's office in the morning. __Julio wanted to come with us, but if he did, he'd __spend the time worrying__ about getting__ back in time for work._

_That still left me with the problem of Jess and Nina's father. I'd promised __Cuddy __I'd take care of him, make sure he didn't rock the delicate balance at PPTH. It was to my advantage as well as everyone else's that I diffuse any threat he posed._

_I had an idea, but wanted to run it by Jess before I went ahead with it._

_"__What's up?" she asked __when I called__._

_"How would you like to have dinner with the two most important men in your life?"_

_"You and who els__e?"_

_"Your fathe__r."_

_She was quiet for a full m__inute. "I hope this has something to do with his bid to take over the hospital, __and not my cockeyed idea about him starting a car business__. __The more I've thought about it, the more I think it's a bad idea.__"_

_"It do__es. __I'm going to make him an offer he can't resis__t."_

_She laughed at my Marlon Brando imitation, but there was still hesitation in her voice. "__I__ don't know what you can offer him that will stop him __from trying to take charge__.__"_

_"__You'll see. And __I agree with you on __about the car shop__. I think we'll go ahead with the original plan. There is a new wrinkle though." I told her about Molino's demand that Julio return to Italy, and what Julio and I feared he might be planning._

_"Oh, no! Greg, we have to do something to protect Ricky. He's a nice guy and he didn't do anything wrong."_

_"I know. __So you'll take another __trip __with me to__ Trenton tomorrow to warn Ricky? __A__t the same time __we can __broach the subject of the car shop."_

_"You're hoping that the shop materializes, aren't you?"_

_"Sure. Why not?"_

_"I can think of several reasons, but I'm sure you'll shoot them all down."_

_I didn't want to hear her objections so I changed the subject. "How's the progress on the new business?"_

_"My sister has some ideas about a PR campaign. I told her to look into them. It's not my thing. Meanwhile, I've been talking to the restaurant owners about staffing. We'll use some of their trained staff, Ellie and Petey, and a few new hires. I might try an agency rather than do all the screening and interviewing myself."_

_"__Sounds like you'll be pretty busy anyway."_

_"But it's a good busy. So, where'd you want to take my father tonight?"_

_"I suppose your uncle's place is ou__t."_

_"That's an idea." She sounded surprised. "Let him see what the competition is like if he's starting his own restaurant."_

_I smiled to myself. __"And how much time he'll have to devote to that __to make it work__. Maybe he won't have time to meddle at the hospital."_

_""__Maybe he'll give up on the idea of staying in Princeton and just go back home. Okay, __I'll call Uncle Johnny and warn him. I don't want a scene between him and my father."_

_"So who's going to warn your father?" I was afraid she was going to say that was my job._

_"I guess I'll have to do that too, although it might not do any good. But if my uncle doesn't respond to anything Dad tries with him, that should diffuse any potential explosions."_

_It sounded almost frightening. __"Or we can pick another restaurant and avoid any possibility of problems."_

_"As you often say, what would be the fun of that?" __She chuckled.__ "I think you thrive on fireworks."_

_"Too true."_

_"__So, let's do it. __I'll call Uncle Gianni and make a reservation.__"_

_I stared at the phone after that call. Dinner would be interesting to say the least. Meanwhile, I had a couple of other things to arrange._

_First I called Ricky's office. He was on another call, but his secretary promised he'd call back as soon as he could. While I waited, I did a search on portrait artists to find one who did work for the cops based on witness descriptions. There were three in the area who had good ratings. I knew those things couldn't be trusted, but it was a start. __I called the first._

_"Abel Sketchers."_

_"I understand you do sketches for the cops."_

_"Who is this?" The voice became suspicious._

_"Oh, sorry. This is Dr. Gregory House, from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. I need someone to capture a description of someone on paper." If he assumed it was for the hospital, so be it._

_"I'm sorry, but our artists are completely booked for the next three weeks."_

_"Can you recommend someone we could use?"_

_"I couldn't do that, I'm afraid."_

_"Well, thank you for your time." I closed the connection. Before I could call the other two, the phone rang._

_"Dr. House, I understand you called earlier." __Ricky's__ curiosity was obvious in his voice._

_"__Y__es. I have a proposition for you and wondered if you would be able to see __Jess and __me tomorrow morning." It was probable that he was already busy._

_"I have an appointment at eleven, but if you can be here by nine-thirty, I could see you."_

_That would work perfectly __even though __it mean__t__ I'd have to get up at an ungodly hour of seven, but it w__ould be worth it if Ricky went along with what we'd ask him. And we'd have the chance to warn him. __I hoped I could get that sketch done before the meeting. "We'll see you then," I told Ricky, and then went back to scouting for an artist to do the job._

_I hit gold on the next call. The woman who answered the phone, Janet Monroe, was much friendlier than the guy at Abel Sketchers. "I can meet with you at three this afternoon, or at two tomorrow."_

_"How long will it take?"_

_"It depends on the amount of detail the witness provides." __She had a warm, friendly voice. _

_"We'll see you this afternoon. Is your address still the same as the one on your website?"_

_Janet confirmed her address. Next I called Julio. "I hope you can get away for an hour or so this afternoon to meet with the sketch artist."_

_"Wow, you set it up already? That's great. Sure. What time?"_

_I arranged to pick him up at the restaurant at two-thirty. __It wasn't far __to__ the sketch artist's storefront office._

_Janet Monroe __was waiting for us. She __could have been mistaken for a twelve-year-old girl. She was short and slim, with dark hair cut in a pixy do and smooth clear skin. "Miss Monroe, this is Julio __Curci. He's going to describe someone for you as well as he can."_

_She asked the obvious question. "Who is the man?"_

_"His name's Giancarlo Bernini." Julio looked around the woman's studio, filled with easels, art supplies and tables holding piles and piles of sketch books. I'd warned him about giving away too much concerning why we wanted the sketch._

_Janet glanced my way, then turned to Julio. "Please have a seat." There were four wooden chairs around a large table. She took a seat at one end and opened a book. "Choose the face shape closest to his."_

_I'd never seen anyone do this, except on TV or in movies, but it was similar to that. She had him pick out the shape and features of the face, showed him the result and then went on to refine her sketch by asked about even more details. I watched silently. _

_"That's it!" Julio__'s__eye's went wide, and he __beamed. "That was amazing, the way you did that." He held up the completed drawing, studied it, then showed it to me. "That's him, Giancarlo."_

_"Good. How much do we owe you, Miss __Monroe?" I pulled out my wallet. "And is there a way we can get a couple of copies?"_

_"__That'll be fifty dollars including two copies. And I do take credit cards."_

_We left her office with the sketches. __Julio kept a copy when I dropped him off at the Melting Pot, but I took the other two for Ricky and his uncle. I returned to the hospital for a short time, but at five I left for home._

_Jess made a reservation for seven at Gianni's restaurant, so I had a little time. I was surprised that she wasn't home when I arrived, so I grabbed a beer and made myself comfortable on the couch, watching a ball game I'd recorded. Jess showed up ten minutes later carrying a garment bag. She grinned at me, then bent to kiss me. _

_"Looks like you decided this evening merited a new dress."_

_She shrugged. "I still want to impress my father. Did you get the sketches?"_

_I picked them up from the end table and waved them at her._

_She looked at one. "He doesn't look like a killer."_

_"What does a killer look like? I believe what Julio told me __about him__. __Now we have to convince Ricky that we're trying to save him."_

_"__I'm sure we can. But first we have to get through tonight." She hefted the bag with her dress in it. "I'm __going to change. Wanna come zip me up?"_


	116. Chapter 116

__So you wanted to listen in on the dinner talk, did you?__

_**Chapter 116.**_

_Jess' new dress was spectacular. I doubt it would have been quite so striking on anyone else. The gold- color brought out the flecks in her brown eyes, and the dress itself emphasized all of her curves without being too revealing. A peak of the top of her well-formed breasts and her slim thighs made her look even sexier than usual. Okay, maybe I'm prejudiced, but I think she's a gorgeous woman, never more than that evening._

_I changed to a fresh button-down shirt, but decided against a tie. By six-thirty we were ready to go._

_"Father will meet us there. He sounded excited about eating at Uncle Gianni's"_

_"And your uncle didn't object when you told him we were going to bring your father with us?" I locked the door behind us. _

_She smiled. "He said he's looking forward to seeing Dad again, now that he knows me and Nina."_

_"__I'll bet." __I had my own ideas about why Johnny wanted to see Peter._

_She playfully punched my shoulder. "I hope you'll behave. This is going to be stressful enough for me."_

_We were both quiet during the ride, arriving at seven on the dot. __Johnny__ greeted us at the door. "I'll take you to your table and bring Pietro when he arrives."_

_Jess glanced at me __before replying to her uncle__. "Are you sure you don't want us here __to help you greet him__?"_

_Johnny chuckled. "Don't you trust me to be civil with him?"_

_She shook her head. "It's not you I'm worried about, believe me."_

_She was right. Her uncle was an urbane man with impeccable manners. It wasn't surprising he made it in the restaurant and other businesses since he was good with people. Still, I remembered what she told me about what had happened between the two brothers in the past. I was sure they both remembered that too. __While her father was more likely to cause trouble, Johnny wasn't going to ignore their past differences._

_He__ winked at her. "Relax, Bella. I can handle him, maybe even put him in a good mood before he talks to you."_

_"C'mon, Jess." I took her arm. "Let's sit."_

_She finally agreed. Johnny had the hostess take us to a table. __From my red velvet-covered seat I saw Senior enter and Johnny greet him, almost like a long-lost brother, which he was. Okay, they didn't exchange kisses on the cheek or anything like that, but they didn't exchange punches, either. If they __traded insults, I couldn't tell. Still, as promised, __Daddy dearest__ was smiling when his brother brought him to our table. __I said a silent Thank you Johnny._

_"I'm sorry I can't join you tonight. The restaurant is busy and I must make certain my other guests are well treated." Johnny grinned. "Let me or my staff know if you have any requests, anything at all. Buon appetito."_

_Senior rubbed a hand over his face as he watched Johnny move through the restaurant. _

_"Guess you didn't expect that kind of reception." I smirked at him. __Maybe that had been Johnny's plan all along. Act completely opposite what his brother expected._

_Peter__ turned to us. "To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to expect." __He looked around the place, taking in the elegant furnishings and soft lighting. "Nice place."_

_"Your brother knows how to run a successful restaurant." I smirked at him._

_"What's that supposed to mean? That I can't match him? You forget, I've been running a place in __Dorsey for many years."_

_"So, you're planning a bar and grill like Boomers?" Jess kept her expression neutral._

_"I'm not sure yet. Keeping my options open." He adjusted his suit jacket, then picked up the menu. "So, what's good here?"_

_"Everything. But I'd recommend the calamari to start and the veal Marsala." That was my favorite._

_"The scallopini is better than Mom's." Jess smiled._

_He shook his head. "No one could make that better than your mother did. I guess I'll take the good doctor's recommendation."_

_The waiter approached when I signaled we were ready to order. _

_"Beer or wine?" I asked Giordano._

_He smiled. "This is a special occasion." He turned to the waiter. "Bring us your best Merlot."_

_"Very good, sir."_

_"And we'll start with an antipasto." Once the waiter was gone, he pressed his palms together and held them to his lips. "I've been wondering why the two of you asked me here tonight."_

_"Isn't it possible I wanted to have a friendly dinner with my father?" Jess smiled brightly. "It's time for us to let bygones be bygones." __It sounded like she was borrowing a page from her uncle. It had disconcerted her father. Would it work again._

_His eyebrows went up. "I take it you want something from me." __He looked at me rather than his daughter._

_"Maybe. But not what you think." I couldn't keep that smirk from making a reappearance._

_"Doctor, how do you know what I think?" __He smirked too._

_Jess sighed. __"All ___I___ want is for you to let me live my life the way I want. Nina and Petey __do__, too. __You're moving to Princeton and we hope it isn't to interfere in our lives."_

_"Of course it isn't. Jessica, you know I love my kids. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."_

_"Oh, no? Maybe you don't __stifled we've __felt __under your thumbs__."_

_"I...I..." he sputtered._

_"Let me finish and then you can say your piece." She swallowed. "I guess you thought you were helping us all, but to us, well, I at least always felt you were holding me down. Keeping me in Dorsey to do your bidding. But there's so much more I wanted to do."_

_"Like what?" __He rolled his eyes. "__I still don't know how you intend to support yourself, beyond your trust fund." __He pointed to me.__ "I suppose House is supporting you. __It looks to me that you've traded my protection __and financial support __for his."_

_She shook her head. "I suppose you'll find out soon enough if you stick around..."_

_"If? You're not getting rid of me so fast." __His face was turning red._

_"Will you stop interrupting? It's hard enough for me to stand up to you even now. Nina and I are starting our own business."_

_"Business?"_

_She glared at him. "Yes. A catering business. We've already completed contracts with suppliers, found office space, even developed a promotion plan."_

_I watched her face, proud that she was able to confront him. __Then I turned to h__er__ father and smiled at the astonishment in his eyes. "__Told you she didn't need you."_

_He got over it quickly, though. "I suppose I should let you continue with this foolishness, but I can't promise that I'll give you a job with my companies when you fail."_

_"Thanks for your confidence in me." Her __scowl__ couldn't be more intense. "See, this is just why I could never work for you again. I'm not going to predict that we'll be more successful than you will, but I will assure you, you'll never have to worry about either Nina or I asking you for a job."_

_They stared at each other in silence for so long I felt I had to say something. "So, where's that waiter __with our food?" I rubbed my hands together and looked around._

_Giordano sighed. "Tonight was a mistake." He started to rise._

_"Oh, sit down. We're not finished with you yet, and you still haven't tasted your brother__'__s food. Wouldn't want to miss that." I smiled as the waiter approached. "Now, doesn't that look yummy?" I took some prosciutto, cheese and foccachia on my plate. Jess took half of the olives, since she knew I never ate those._

_Giordano hesitated only briefly before he, too, loaded his plate with peppers, meat and mushrooms. "Smells good. __I would b__et the olive oil is imported." His voice was more subdued. I don't know what he expected about the food or us._

_"I'm sure it is." Jess smiled slightly. "Uncle Johnny uses only the finest ingredients."_

_He nodded, but his mouth was too full to talk. When he finally had his fill, he turned to me. "So what else did you want to __bitch at__ me about?"_

_"__Oh, just a little matter of a hostile takeover of PPTH." I chewed my final bite of ham and swallowed. "You know it's been tried before, and not very successfully. __None of us welcome the interference of so-called businessmen. The hospital is not a cash cow. It's a place of healing. And this one happens to also be a teaching institution. Administration of a hospital isn't the same as management of a hardware store or a dress shop."_

_"I thought you'd be delighted that someone with money to throw at the hospital would be taking over."_

_"Huh?" That wasn't what Cuddy said he was planning._

_"I have no intention of micromanaging the day-to-day operations. I intend to endow a few departments, that's all." A sly grin appeared on his face. "Of course, those departments will have to prove to me that they deserve my support. Yours, for instance." __His eyes narrowed.__ "What have you done to make __the__ continued existence of the diagnostics department desirable?"_

_"You don't call that micromanaging?" The irritation in Jess' voice matched what I felt._

_"Mr. Giordano, I can assure you, my department is a major asset to the hospital. If you're going to challenge me to prove it, you're going to have a fight on your hands the likes of which you've never seen before." I made sure to smile instead of frown. It wasn't easy. "And now that we've gotten all of that out of the way, it's time to focus on what the hell you're trying to prove, and to whom." I wanted to see him squirm, to sweat. To realize that, if he wanted a place in Jess' life, he'd have to play by our rules._

_He didn't answer right away, but busied himself with folding and refolding his napkin. Our entrees appeared on the table and Jess and I dug in, murmuring our pleasure over our food. I took a bite of her veal, and nodded my approval. Her father moved his chicken around on the plate for a few minutes, but our enjoyment must have prompted him to eat. It changed him mood._

_"This is fantastic."_

_"Didn't we tell you it was worth sticking around? Dad, whatever our differences, I hope we can be civil with each other, act like adults, enjoy a meal together occasionally."_

_He took the olive branch, nodding at her. "I would like that. I hope you know I worry about you. Your sister and brother, too."_

_"We know. You just have a strange way of showing it sometimes. But if we don't get in each other's way, maybe we can all live with that."_


	117. Chapter 117

__The dinner isn't over yet. Let's see what else they talk about. And what happens next.__

_**Chapter 117.**_

_By unspoken mutual agreement, the rest of the dinner passed without __much__ controversial conversation. That's not to say we were quiet. Jess' father was effusive in his praise of the food and décor of his brother's restaurant. So when Johnny joined us for dessert, I __told him, "Your brother is jealous."_

_"Jealous of what?" __Johnny studied Peter._

_"Of the food here, the ambiance, everything about this place." Jess smiled and waved a hand to encompass the entire __restaurant__."_

_Johnny grinned. "It's taken __me __a while. __Picking food with a wide appeal was difficult. And f__inding a good chef or two __was__n't easy, e__ither__."_

_"What's so special about 'here'?" __Peter shrugged his broad shoulders._

_"There are some excellent culinary schools in the area. But __it still took__ a few tries __to__ f__ind__ two excellent cooks and a superb pastry chef." He pointed to the tiramisu Peter was devouring. "You like? __Guido has a way with pastry and mascarpone. And don't think you can steal any of my people away from me." He smiled broadly as he said it, to indicate it was a joke. _

_I watched to see whether Peter took it that way. It took him a while, but finally he burst out laughing and slapped Johnny on the back. "You were always a joker."_

_"Did Jessica tell you that we'll be supplying some of the food for her catering enterprise? She and Nina lined up some of the best restaurants in town to supply their offerings, __including this one__."_

_Peter dropped his fork. "Is this true?" __He looked from his brother to Jess._

_"Yes. Uncle Johnny was one of the first we signed, but there are six others, each offering different kinds of food."_

_"You thought this through." __His eyes narrowed._

_"__Why are you so surprised, Dad? __Did you think we'd do this without a plan, __a concrete idea of what we wanted and what we'd need to get there__? __If nothing else, you taught us how to approach a business venture like this. __Yes, we were thorough.__"_

_Finally there was a gleam of respect in his eyes as he looked at her, and a smile on his face. He seemed unable to say anything. Time to change the subject yet again._

_"So, have you found a site for your restaurant?" I asked him. _

_Peter shook his head. "The places my real estate agent showed me would never work. __They were either in bad neighborhoods or too small.__"_

_"I can recommend the __realtor__ we used, Ricky Locarno. His office is in Trenton. As a matter of fact, Greg and I are going to see him tomorrow morning."_

_"__He's good?"_

_"Very. His family handles business properties in the better parts of Trenton and Princeton." She opened her purse. "I think I have one of his cards here." She found it and handed it to him._

_Peter examined the card. "Locarno Realty. Why does the name sound familiar?" _

_"His family is well-known in this part of the state. They're involved in many __sponsoring __high-profile civic events." But as I said it, I wondered if he knew the family in another connection._

_Johnny nodded. "The old man, I guess that would be Ricky's grandfather, is involved in state politics."_

_"Yeah, I guess that's where I've heard the name." The speculative look on Peter's face implied he thought otherwise. He tucked the card in a pocket. "Thanks for the recommendation." He studied Jess again. "Perhaps once my place is established I can be one of your suppliers."_

_"Perhaps." She grinned at him._

_It was a thought I had __back __when we __first __learned he was opening a restaurant in town, and one I'd dismissed immediately. I hoped Jess wouldn't encourage him too much._

_"What kind of food will you serve?" Johnny asked. _

_"I don't think I'll limit myself to Italian food, like you have." Peter puffed out his chest. "Perhaps classic European food of all sorts."_

_Johnny ignored the thinly disguised dig and raised one eyebrow. "That's quite ambitious. So, French? Spanish?"_

_Peter nodded. "German, too. And possibly some eastern European specialties. It will depend on the chefs I find."_

_"Seems to me you'll be too busy with that to take much interest in what's happening at the hospital."_

_"I've always had several businesses going at one time." Peter shrugged. "It shouldn't be hard."_

_"And what about those businesses? The ones in Dorsey?" An amused look filled Jess' eyes. "Surely you won't neglect those."_

_"No, of course not. __I have people I can depend on taking care of things there.__" He sat back in his chair __with a smug smile. "Well, this has been an excellent meal. Giovanni, I commend you on your restaurant and I hope I will eat here again some time."_

_"You're welcome here any time." His brother met his eyes. "And I hope to eat at your establishment some day."_

_Peter pushed back his chair and rose. "Jessica, Dr. House. Thank you both for inviting me. It has been an interesting evening, to say the least." He walked off and out of the restaurant._

_Jess sighed. "I think that went as well as could be expected."_

_"At least now he has a better appreciation of what you and Nina are doing, and how great this place is." __I saw Johnny's frown. "What's wrong?"_

_"My brother hasn't changed, has he?"_

_"I doubt he ever will." Jess sighed. "It's very difficult for him to see anyone or anything except from his own viewpoint. He doesn't listen to anyone else because he thinks he knows best about everything."_

_Johnny smoothed his napkin and started to fold it carefully. "Even as a boy, he was like that. That is why we weren't surprised when he __didn't contact the family for years, __never sent __us__ anything, __no matter how successful he was__."_

_"Do you think he can succeed in the restaurant business?" I asked._

_"His plan is very ambitious. I don't think he realizes how hard it will be to achieve it."_

_I nodded. "Even though you told him how hard it would be to find really good chefs here."_

_"Greg, as I just said, he wasn't really listening. Uncle Johnny, thank you again for putting up with all of us tonight."_

_"I told you, Bella Jess, anytime you want to eat here, you're welcome."_

_"Me too?"_

_He chuckled. "Of course, Dottori. My brother, I'm not so sure. But we'll see, we'll see." __He shook my hand as I rose, then hugged Jess._

_As we drove home, she said, "I'm glad we didn't bring up the idea of working with my dad on a car detailing shop. It was definitely one of my worst ideas."_

_"No harm, no foul." But I couldn't help thinking what a disaster it might have been. "Tomorrow, we'll talk to Ricky about that __instead__, and warn him about Molino's man."_

_"We should get his commitment on the shop before we bring up __Giancarlo__, don't you think?"_

_That made sense. Still, I wondered. "What if he won't __back the shop__?"_

_"We'll still have to warn him. That's why you had those sketches done, isn't it?"_

_I nodded. _

_"My only hope is that he won't hold any of this against Julio. He and Tina are so cute together, I don't want to do anything that will jeopardize that."_

_"You are such a romantic."_

_"So? What's wrong with that?" She touched my arm, gently so it wouldn't interfere with my driving. "You can be pretty romantic yourself."_

_I smirked. "That's different." I didn't have to look at her to know she was smirking, __too, __or at least rolling her eyes. But I would never admit to any interest in anyone else's sappy relationships. Unless they played into any plans I had. "Do you know anyone we can hook up with Ricky?"_

_She laughed, loud and long._

_"Because I was thinking it might help our cause to soften him up."_

_"Don't we have enough ammunition?" She squeezed my arm. "I can't think of anyone."_

_"Too bad." __We were home__. _

_I'd hoped to cap off the evening with some lovemaking. As it turned out, that would have to wait. The minute we walked through the door, my phone began to sing._

_"Ricky, what's up?" I figured the realtor wouldn't be calling unless it was to cancel for the next day._

_"Dr. House, I'm glad I reached you." He sounded almost breathless. "I called my sister and she said you'd be the one to help."_

_"Take a slow breath and let it out, then tell me what's wrong." I had an inkling of what he was going to say, and I wasn't far off the mark._

_I heard him follow my instructions. When he could speak again, he said, "I had drinks tonight with a couple of buddies and as I started for my car, I thought I heard footsteps behind me. You know that feeling you get sometimes? You're sure someone's watching you, but you look and no one's there? Well, it was like that, but when I looked, this big guy was coming straight for me." His voice became shakier as he talked. "I tried to run, but, you know, since the accident..." He trailed off._

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah, yeah. Someone came out of the restaurant I was passing and the guy following me took off. Guess he didn't want witnesses." Ricky tried to laugh, but it came out choked._

_"Where are you now?" I'd put the phone on speaker, and motioned to Jess to get me a paper and pen. _

_"__I was so shaky, I had to sit down. I'm in the restaurant, drinking some tea. Dr. House, I didn't imagine this. It __really __happened."_

_"I believe you. Stay put." I could hear voices in the background. "Are there other people in the restaurant?"_

_"Yes, it's pretty crowded."_

_"What's the name? The street it's on."_

_"Ah, it's called Lulu's Lounge. It's on Maple, I think."_

_"I know it. We'll be there in twenty minutes, half an hour tops. Sit tight. The marines are on the way."_

_"Huh?"_

_I closed the connection and turned to Jess. "Guess he never watched any old war movies."_

_Her quizzical look indicated that she didn't either. "How do you know Lulu's Lounge?"_

_I shrugged. Back in the days when I didn't have Jess in my life, I spent a fair amount of time at the bar there and other places. No need to bring that up now._

_We headed out once more. I hoped this would be even better than what we'd planned to convince Ricky to go along with our plan to bring Molino, himself, to New Jersey, and then prove his involvement in his wife's death._


	118. Chapter 118

__What will Ricky have to tell them about the attack? And will it make him more apt to cooperate with House and Jess? Let's see. __

_**Chapter 11**__**8**__**.**_

_The restaurant __where Ricky waited for us __was on the outskirts of Newark, not far from the property Jess and Nina leased for their new business. It wasn't as seedy as some bar and grill places I used to frequent, but it wasn't upscale, either. And it definitely wasn't a trendy sports bar __like the kind__ the college kids __frequente__d. Just a neighborhood restaurant with decent food and a fully-stocked bar._

_Ricky sat at a table in the corner, staring into a half-full cup of tea, looking like he'd just lost his best friend. He started to stand when he saw us, but I motioned with my hand for him to stay seated. Jess too__k__ the __straight-backed wooden __chair opposite him, and I grabbed one from the next table __and pulled it around to sit next to her__._

_"I think that was the second scariest thing that ever happened to be, almost as bad as when my car flipped. Both times I thought I was going to die." __He licked his lips and swallowed loudly._

_"Ricky, did you get a good look at the man who was after you?" __Jess put a reassuring hand on his wrist._

_"Yeah, why? You think I should tell the cops?" __He looked at her expectantly._

_"Not just yet." I pulled out the sketch we'd had done earlier in the day. "Is this him?"_

_The second he saw the picture, his eyes went wide. "How did you know? Do you know who he is?"_

_I let out a sigh. "It's a long story." I tapped the sketch. "His name's Giancarlo. I don't know his last name, but he works for Carlo Molino."_

_"Molino, you mentioned that name before." __Ricky stared at the drawing._

_I nodded. "When you told me about the woman you used to see at the auto shop. Francesca Molino. Carlo __was__ her husband. He's a big shot in Palermo."_

_"Sicily." __He seemed to cling to anything that made sense._

_"Right." I rubbed my forehead as I organized my thoughts. I had to present this to Ricky in a way that wouldn't __turn him against__ Julio, __and__ would __also __ensure Ricky's cooperation with us. "When Francesca died, Carlo told her cousin that your family had something to do with the accident that killed her, __and sent him here to find out what happened. __It didn't take long for __Julio __to __conclude that your family had nothing to do with Francesca's death."_

_"Julio? You mean my sister's Julio?" Ricky closed his eyes, then opened them wide. "__He's Francesca's cousin? __What was he going to do if he found out we were involved __in her death__?" His mouth was pressed in a firm line._

_I shook my head. "I don't know. But you didn't, right? And that's what he told Molino. __The thing is, __Molino either didn't believe him or needed a scapegoat."_

_"A scapegoat?"_

_"Someone to accuse, because otherwise the trail might lead right back to him."_

_I saw the light dawn in Ricky's eyes. __"You think Molino arranged his wife's death? And then blamed my family?"_

_I nodded. "Not just your family, but specifically you and your __U__ncle Marcello. __We still have no idea why.__"_

_Ricky laughed, but it was a hollow sound. "And now he's sent this thug after __us__?"_

_I nodded again._

_"Ricky, we would love to prove what we suspect about Carlo Molino." Jess glanced my way, and I gave her a go-ahead signal. "If we can lure him to the States, maybe we can do that."_

_"How are you going to __get him to come__?" Ricky searched each of our faces._

_"He owns that car shop and another one here in New Jersey. __We think that if he feels they're threatened by stiff competition from another shop, he might show up." __Jess tried to catch his eyes with her own._

_"Does he have a competitor?"_

_She shook her head. __"Not yet. That's where you come in."_

_"Me?" He shook his head. "I don't understand."_

_I took over the explanation. __"You raced cars. I assume you know a lot about __what can be done__ to improve the performance of the engines."_

_"Well, yes."_

_"And you know the real estate available in the area." __Jess smiled._

_He nodded. "You want me to find you a place to set up another car customization shop?"_

_"And lend your name to it. Julio can handle the day-to-day operation, but we don't want Molino to know he's involved. Your name will draw in race car drivers and fans. __And your family name is well-respected in this part of the state.__"_

_He didn't hesitate long. "It will take a while to set this up and build up enough business for this Molino to feel threatened. Meanwhile, what do Marcello and I do about the hoodlum who came after me?"_

_"I think you will both need bodyguards. That's why I asked Julio to have the sketch made of Giancarlo, __so that whoever is guarding you will know who they're watching for__."_

_"I'm going to have to think about this and talk to my uncle. I think he knows some people we can use." He smiled wryly. "If he doesn't my grandfather will, although I don't want to involve him if I can help it." He paused briefly. "You want me to work with Julio on this?"_

_"Yes. Is that a problem?"_

_Ricky's face clouded over. __"Doesn't he have a job?"_

_Jess nodded. __"Yes, he works in the office at The Melting Pot, __the fondue restaurant, __and __the owner's sending him__ to school for a business degree."_

_He nodded. "Tina said something about that. She really likes him. Guess it's time I met the kid."_

_"__What about working with him?"_

_"We'll see." __He tilted his head slightly.__ "It'll depend."_

_"On what?" __I puffed out my cheeks.__ "Ricky, besides everything else, keeping him close to you is additional protection from Giancarlo."_

_"That is if I can trust him." __His eyebrows lifted.__ "He could still be trying to get close to me for this Molino guy."_

_Jess patted his arm. __"You're still shaken up from tonight. Think about it. We have an appointment with you in the morning. You can give us your answer then. Meanwhile, do you have some place you can spend the night where you'll be safe?" __She let her concern show in her voice._

_"I...I hadn't thought that far ahead. I should call Marcello, too." __He started to take out his phone._

_"Okay." __I scratched my ear.__ "You do that. We'll stick around until you find some place to stay."_

_"Yeah, yeah. And Dr. House? Jess? Thanks. I do appreciate you're telling me all of this. I only wonder why you never did before."_

_Jess and I exchanged a slightly guilty look. She turned back to him. "We didn't want to alarm you prematurely, but Julio heard today that Molino wants him back in Italy and was sending Giancarlo."_

_"And the kid doesn't want to go back, am I right?" __His mouth quirked._

_"He likes it here. Things are working out for him." I smirk. "Do you blame him? He's got a good job, a boss who'll support his efforts and a cute girlfriend."_

_Ricky chuckled. "My sister. Yeah. I could see that." __He sighed. "I'll call Marcello, find someplace to spend the night, and think about it. Thanks for coming tonight. I'll see you in the morning." He stood and took out his phone, moving away to make his call._

_It was a dismissal, but I wasn't about to leave until I was sure Ricky would be safe. The worried look in Jess' eyes told me she felt the same way. She took my hand. "I'm going to the rest room. I won't be long."_

_I nodded. "I'm not going anywhere." I watched her shapely bottom wiggle slightly as she walked away, and smiled, __then signaled a waiter to bring me a beer._

_Ricky returned to his seat first. "My uncle says he's taking precautions and he suggested I check into a hotel for the night, __keep a low profile."_

_"Maybe we can meet you there tomorrow instead of your office. Giancarlo will know where you live and where you work."_

_"Good point." __He watched the waiter deposit my brew on the table. "__Where'd Jess go?"_

_"To the ladies." I glanced in that direction just in time to see her heading back our way. "I have another suggestion."_

_"Oh?"_

_"You can stay with us overnight. We have a guest room." __I sipped my drink._

_"I wouldn't want to put you out."_

_I shrugged. "No one will look for your there." _

_Jess sat down just as Ricky took out a wad of bills. He dropped a few twenties on the table. "I guess we can go now, then. __Unless you want to finish that.__"_

_"Go? Where?" Jess asked, looking from him to me and back again._

_"We're going to have an overnight guest." __I took one more swig of beer and stood._

_She smiled. "Great idea! And then we can talk some more in the morning. Maybe we'll __even __take you to meet Julio."_

_Ricky's car was parked nearby. As he followed us back to the condo, I made sure to keep him in my mirror at all times. It was quiet on our street. I let the three of us in and Jess switched on the lights._

_"Nice place." Ricky looked around with a practiced eye. "Bet it cost you a pretty penny."_

_Jess laughed. "Interesting story how we wound up here. We'll tell you about it someday." She led the way to the guest room. "If you need anything, let us know."_

_"Yeah, well, since I have nothing with me..." He let it hang._

_"There are extra toiletries in the guest bathroom. Greg's robes might be a little long on you but I think we can find one that'll do."_

_As I followed her to our bedroom, I muttered, "Next you'll be offering him my favorite __pillow."_

_"You were the one who invited him," she pointed out. "Besides, I thought I was your favorite pillow."_

_I nodded._


	119. Chapter 119

__What will Ricky decide? And how will they keep him safe?__

_**Chapter 119.**_

_We didn't go to sleep right away. First, Jess had to prove to me that I would never lose my favorite pillow. But after a very satisfying round of lovemaking, she went all serious on me._

_"You know that if Giancarlo or anyone else from Molino's organization learns that Ricky is here, we'll be in danger, too." She propped her head up with her arm, resting her cheek on her palm. _

_I shrugged. "I locked up, turned on the alarm. I don't think anyone will attack tonight, in any event. They're probably waiting at Ricky's place for him to come home."_

_She didn't look completely mollified by my answer, but she relaxed a little. "I think we should take some more precautions in the morning."_

_"We will. Get some sleep." I pecked at her cheek, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep. But Jess' unease must have rubbed off on me. My mind ticked through what we knew about Molino and Giancarlo, about Ricky and Julio. __We never found out why Molino focused on the Locarnos when there were so many other families in New Jersey that he could have picked instead. The fact that he won't let up on them also confirmed that he had something specific against them. I resolved to find out what that was. I didn't need to face him to do that, either. _

_Ricky might not know. Perhaps Marcello didn't either. But the old man, Ricky's grandfather, the head of the Locarno family, he might be the key to the whole thing, or at least know what it was._

_In the morning, we found our house guest in the kitchen, already dressed in the clothes he'd worn the day before, and trying to figure out how our coffeemaker worked. Jess shooed him away with a smile and a wave of her hand and set to work preparing the brew we all needed. Soon the grinder was whirring and the scent of the Guatemalan beans we favored wafted through the kitchen. With the coffee dripping into the carafe, Jess opened the refrigerator. She turned to Ricky. "Bacon or sausage?" _

_He dropped into a chair. "I didn't expect such service."_

_"She wants to keep you happy so you'll agree to our plan." I reached up into the cupboards for three mugs, my contribution to making breakfast._

_Ricky nodded. "I've been thinking about that. You seem to think a lot of Julio."_

_I tilted my head and shrugged. "He's a good kid. Deserves any breaks he can get."_

_"Tina's usually a good judge of people." He drummed his fingers on the table. I handed him a cup of Joe, and he sipped it. "Hmm. This is good stuff." _

_The sizzle of the eggs and bacon and the aroma of frying grease seemed to distract him for a minute. __He waited until she placed a heaping plate in front of him before he went on. "Okay, I'll go along with your plan. As long as it doesn't put me, Marcello, or my sister in any more danger."_

_"It won't." I thought about the idea I'd had the night before. "You never heard of Carlo Molino, but could you check with your uncle and make sure he hasn't? Might as well ask the other members of your family." I figured that if I didn't specifically mention Grandpa Locarno he wouldn't realize that was who I was most interested in._

_"__By the other family members, who do you mean exactly?" Ricky was sharper than I'd given him credit for._

_I shrugged. "I don't have a roster. In fact, the only ones I've ever met were you, your sister and your uncle. Is the family large?"_

_He smirked. "Large enough. Okay, I'll ask around, but I'll tell you, I never heard the name Locarno until you mentioned it."_

_"You can flash the sketch of Giancarlo around, too, see if anyone recognizes him."_

_"I thought he was from Italy, that he just arrived in the states." He smacked his head. "Of course, you think that if Carlo arranged his wife's accident, who better to have been here to do it than Giancarlo." He nodded. _

_"And meanwhile you can also see if there's an appropriate property to use for a car shop." Jess topped off our coffee mugs._

_"Yeah, I'll do that too. So when do I get to meet this paragon my sister's fallen for?" __He forked up the last of his eggs._

_"We can visit him at the restaurant. __He should be there within the next hour.__ When __and where __will __you be meeting the__ bodyguards your uncle is arranging?"_

_"He said they'd be at the office when I arrive today. I only hope he doesn't have to get Nonna's Okay."_

_"Your grandfather? Why should he have to?" __Jess sat down again._

_"Because he might not interfere too much in the day-to-day operation of the real estate business, but he likes to be kept informed." He sighed. "We all try to keep him happ__y and unaware of any problems."_

_"Does he do the same?"_

_"What?"_

_"Keep you in the dark about any problems he's having?" I emptied my mug and took it to the sink. There'd be time for more java later._

_Ricky's brow furrowed. "I never really thought about it. Grandfather doesn't have any problems, as far __as I know."_

_"Guess that answers my question." I rubbed my hands together. "So, everybody ready? Tempus fugit."_

_"I'll just be a minute." Jess ran off, probably to powder her nose, although it didn't need it._

_Fifteen minutes later we were on the way to The Melting Pot so Ricky could meet Julio. I drove into the parking lot and we approached the front door._

_"We're not open for another couple of hours." The young woman __loading menus in the reception station tried to turn us away._

_"We're here to see Julio." Jess smiled at her. "We know the way." She breezed past the woman, heading for the back with Ricky and me trailing behind._

_Julio and Bertoli sat side-by-side at the desk, going over some official-looking forms. They both looked up when Jess knocked on the half-open door. Identical smiles appeared on their faces. _

_"A little early for lunch, isn't it?" Bertoli asked._

_"We brought someone to meet Julio." Jess stood aside and ushered Ricky into the small office. "This is Ricky Locarno."_

_"Tina's Ricky?" Julio asked. His smile grew. "I've been looking forward to meeting you." He stood and held out his hand._

_Ricky hesitated, looking the younger man over. "__And I've been curious about you."_

_Bertoli gathered the papers from the desk, and locked them in a four-drawer file cabinet. "Then I'll leave you to get acquainted. Just remember, I have plans for this young man. I expect he'll continue to work here."_

_Once he was gone, I asked the younger man, "How much did you tell him?"_

_Julio shrugged. "Only that I might be helping you with a project to find out why Jess, Nina and I were kidnapped." He looked at Ricky. "Are we going through with this?"_

_"You heard about what happened to Ricky last night?" I assumed Tina told him._

_He nodded._

_"Ricky identified the thug who attacked him as Giancarlo," Jess said._

_"You showed him the sketch?"_

_"Yes, they did." Ricky scowled. "My uncle is arranging bodyguards for me and himself, but Dr. House thought you would be additional protection for me. Somehow I'm beginning to think that you might __need protection yourself."_

_"Me? Who would want to harm me?" Julio's brow furrowed._

_Ricky smirked. "Your cousins husband, I would think. You flubbed the job he sent you to do, didn't you? And now you're sticking around here after he ordered you back to Palermo. I doubt he'd be the sort to forgive that."_

_Julio seemed taken aback by that. He looked at me. "Do you agree with Ricky?"_

_"He has a point. __You said yourself Carlo wasn't pleased with you."_

_He accepted that reluctantly. _

_"I'll start looking for a property suitable for the car shop. In the meantime, perhaps we can catch Giancarlo in the act and we won't have to go through with setting up a bogus business."_

_Julio nodded. "Well, it was nice to finally meet you, but I have to get back to work. Mr. Bertoli has been good to me, so I have to do what I can to make his business better than ever."_

_As Ricky, Jess and I walked back through the restaurant, Ricky looked around. "I've never eaten here. Is the food good?"_

_"Excellent." Jess smiled. "They're one of the places provided food for our business. Speaking of which..." She trailed off as she looked at her watch. "I told Nina I'd give her a call by eleven. She was supposed to meet with the printers again today."_

_We went outside into the late morning heat and she moved to a corner close to the building to make her call._

_"Are you heading to your office?" I wasn't going to ask Ricky if he felt safe to drive alone in broad daylight. It might offend him. _

_"Maybe I'll call Marcello and have him send someone to drive with me. Every time I think about what happened last night, I get chills up my spine."_

_I nodded. "It could have ended badly. It was good you were in a busy part of town, with people around you."_

_"Makes you wonder what he was thinking. Giancarlo, I mean. Attacking me in the open like that."_

_"It might indicate that Molino is getting desperate, but I still don't know why. So much about this still doesn't make any sense."_

_Jess __rushed__ toward us. "Nina wants me to meet her at the printers. There's some problem about getting the logo on brochures."_

_Ricky laughed. "The problems of running your own business."_

_"You can say that again. __I've got a few minutes, but then I'll have to leave.__" _

_We __stay__ed with Ricky while he waited for his bodyguard. In about half an hour a black Lincoln pulled up. It looked like Marcello was driving. One of the two men in the back seat got out. He was built like a wall, tall, solid, with a shaved head. I wouldn't have liked to meet him in an alley._

_Ricky called him by name. "Thanks for coming, Bruno."_

_"Mr. Marcello said you needed someone to watch your back. I'm here to do that."_

_Ricky turned to us. "Thanks for waiting for me. Bruno will take it from here."_

_"Call if you learn anything."_

_"You do the same." Ricky waved to his uncle, who drove away, and then he and Bruno got into his car and they left, too._

_I didn't know what might happen next, but at least things seemed to be under control for a while. "C'mon, I'll drop you off at the printers." I ushered Jess into my car, knowing things were coming to a head, but not what would happen next._


	120. Chapter 120

__We're back from a weekend away. Sorry this is a day late.__

_**Chapter 120.**_

_Once I dropped Jess off to meet her sister at the printers, I turned my car towards the hospital. Maybe I'd have a quiet late morning before anything else happened._

_It ___was___ quiet in my office. No one was in the conference room, and there were no files on my desk. I donned my earbuds and pumped up the music, leaning back in my chair to let ideas percolate. The events of the night before had been a jarring __experience__. Something about the failed attack on Ricky didn't sit right with me. __How did Giancarlo know where to find Ricky? And why did he try an attack in public? Was he only trying to scare Ricky? To warn him? He had to know Ricky would then take precautions, making __it __more difficult than ever to get to him. Or was his mission meant to fail? That would support my theory that Molino knew the Locarnos had nothing to do with Francesca's death, __he only needed to make it look like he suspected them__._

_Now that sounded right. So maybe Ricky and Marcello weren't in danger after all. Molino had to be trying to prove something. The question was to whom._

_Every line of reasoning I'd pursued lately came back to the same thing. Only Molino had the answers, and somehow I had to confront him about it._

_The plan with the car shop might work to bring him to New Jersey, but Ricky was right. It would take too long. True, if the Locarnos weren't really in any danger, we had time. But I'd never been that patient._

_I exploded out of my chair. There was something else I could do. _

_Cuddy was in her office, as I expected. She looked up with a frown __when__ I approached. "Not now, House."_

_"How do you know why I'm here?"_

_"Whatever it is can't be good. You're grinning one of your maniacal grins." She sighed. "Alright, what is it? I know you won't go away until you tell me."_

_"Do you know anyone at the hospital in Palermo?"_

_"Italy?"_

_"Yeah. Well, actually Sicily."_

_"I might." Her eyes bore into me. "What's this about?"_

_"__It's not that large a city, right?"_

_"How should I know? House, get to the point. I don't have all day."_

_"Okay, okay. Don't get your thong in a—well I guess you couldn't, could you, being a thong?"_

_"House you're not here to talk about my preference in underwear."_

_"Right.__" I scratched my ear.__ "I need to find out all I can about a family in Palermo, specifically a man and his late wife."_

_"Are they sick?"_

_"No. At least I don't think he is. She's dead. That's why she's his late wife, __get it?__"_

_"House."_

_I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. It was always so much fun to mess with her. "That's __all__. Whatever anyone in Palermo knows about them. I presume that, if you have any contacts there, it would be with the hospital administration and staff."_

_"Suppose I do." __Her eyes narrowed.__ "What am I supposed to ask them? Specifically."_

_"Ask about any rumors that might be flying around the city __about Carlo Molino__. Oh, and ask what they might know about Julio Curci."_

_"Who's he?" She looked stymied._

_"He's the kid that was kidnapped with Jess and Nina. Actually, I guess they were kidnapped with him."_

_"Is that what this is about?" She sounded incredulous. "You're still trying to find out why your girlfriend was kidnapped?"_

_"Isn't that what I said?"_

_Her eyes went round and round __like __a horse on a merry-go-round. "And if I get you this information, what do I get in return?"_

_"I'll keep Peter Giordano from messing with your hospital."_

_"You already promised to do that."_

_"But now I have the means." __In fact, I had his promise, but she didn't have to know that__._

_She still hesitated._

_"C'mon, Cuddy, what'll it cost you to make a phone call?"_

_"For one thing, I'll then owe Salvatore."_

_"Salvatore?"_

_"Dr. Salvatore Cavalieri. The head of the Ospedale Palermo, the main hospital in the city."_

_"And you know Salvatore how?" I couldn't help grin. So, she really did know someone who could help._

_"We met at a conference in London about two years ago, maybe three."_

_"He was fascinated by your melons."_

_She rolled her eyes. "We had a lot in common. Our hospitals are about the same size, both teaching hospitals."_

_"And he was fascinated by your melons."_

_"House, Sal Cavalieri is a sixty-four-year-old grandfather of ten."_

_"So?" _

_She groaned. "Do you want me to call him or not?"_

_"Yeah, go ahead." I was still grinning when I let myself out of her office. You never knew where you were going to get the information you needed. __In fact, I wondered who else I could tap for intel on Molino._

_Before I could pursue that thought, the strains of "Brown Eyed Girl" issued from my cell phone. I smiled and answered. "Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"_

_"You know very well who this is. What's my song this week?" Jess's voice held a hint of laughter._

_Did she really think I'd tell her? "How can I help you, ?"_

_"Nina and I convinced the printer that putting our logo on everything was possible."_

_"That's nice. So where do I come in?" _

_"There's just one __teensy weensy__ problem, and I wondered if you had a suggestion."_

_"I'm listening."_

_Jess sighed. __"Someone else has already copyrighted the name __A__ Movable Feast. We need a new name, __and thought you might have an idea for us.__"_

_I rolled my eyes, but thought about her request. The name they'd come up with was a good one. It was too bad. "Maybe a variation on A Moveable Feast." Then it came to me. "How about Meals on Wheels? Yes, I know that's already taken, too, but you could play around with it, make it your own."_

_"That's not a bad idea. Let me run it by Nina. I knew you'd come through for us. You're the greatest." __She sounded much peppier than when she called._

_"Glad I could help. Before you go, there was something I wanted to ask you."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Do you know where your father's staying in town?"_

_Silence, than a wary, "Why do you want to know?"_

_"I'm not sure. It's just a hunch, really."_

_"Okay, I won't ask. He usually stays at the Hilton when he's in Princeton. I guess that's where he is."_

_"Thanks, Jess. Good luck with the name thing."_

_I stopped to think about how I would approach Giordano before I called the Hilton. Certainly, there could be no connection between his family from northern Italy and Molino in Palermo. Had he said something or was it my brain lumping __the __two thorns in my side together? And if there was a connection, would he tell me? But I had to know, so I called the hotel._

_I used my most authoritarian voice. "This is Dr. Gregory House. I'd like to speak with Peter Giordano. I believe he's staying there."_

_"I'll connect you to his room." The woman's voice was pleasant, __but that didn't ease my trepidation._

_"Hello?" Giordano sounded surprised to be getting a phone call, __or maybe just one from me__._

_"Mr. Giordano, it's Greg House."_

_"Dr. House." The tone was cold, wary._

_"I was wondering if you were free this afternoon. I have a proposition for you."_

_"What kind of proposition?" Back to surprised._

_"I'd rather tell you in person. Say two thirty?"_

_He hesitated. "Make it three."_

_"Three it is." That would give him enough time to stew over what I was going to say. "What room are you in?"_

_"Six twelve. But it might be best if I meet you in the lobby or the bar."_

_"Make it the bar. I think you'll be interested in what I have to say."_

_He closed the connection without replying. Good. It meant he was curious. I smiled as I tossed my red and gray ball from hand to hand, knowing that this was going to work, but not what he'd tell me._

_I looked up at a figure appearing in my doorway._

_"I reached out to Sal, as you asked. I doubt what he told me will help you any. Molino is a respected businessman in Palermo. No health problems. His wife didn't have any before she came to the states and died in a car accident. He knew nothing about Curci, __but there's a family by that name and the grandmother was recently in his hospital with a heart attack. She recovered__."_

_I realized belatedly that I should have asked about Giancarlo too, but I still didn't know his last name._

_"There is one curious thing. __Molino__ made a huge donation to the hospital after h__is wife's __death."_

_"What was so curious about that?" Maybe Cuddy's friend had come through with something useful after all._

_"It was to a department specializing in fertility treatment__s__, but no one in the Molino family used their facilities."_

_I smiled, another piece of the puzzle falling into place._

_"Does that make sense to you?"_

_"It could explain a lot of what I've learned about Carlo and Francesca Molino."_

_"__Well, you owe me now. Don't forget."_

_"I won't. As a matter of fact, I'm meeting with Giordano this afternoon." I didn't add that it was on another matter altogether._

_"Good. Let me know what he says." She turned on her four inch heels and left._

_With the new information, I had another avenue to explore. Had Francesca come to New Jersey to seek help with infertility? What name did she use, and did Carlo send her or even know about it? I listed all the unknowns in my head, right next to the remaining questions about the connections between Molino and the Locarnos, __and about the attack on Ricky__._

_The leading fertility specialist in the area was Paul Jerome at Princeton General. He also had an extensive private practice. I didn't know the man well, but I'd met him a few times. Cuddy might have helped with getting to him, except I already owed her more than I __wanted to__. There was another way, of course. _

_Jess and I had never talked about kids. It wasn't something I had __considered for our__ future. For one thing, I was self-aware enough to know I'd make a lousy father. __But t__hat __wasn't the point here.__ I'd broach the subject with her later._

_Meanwhile, there was one avenue I might finally have to pursue, and __it was __probably better if I did it before I talked to Senior __at three__. It wasn't easy to find his number, but eventually I made my call to the head of the Locarno family._


	121. Chapter 121

__As much as House has uncovered, there's still a lot for him to investigate. I think this chapter adds a few more pieces to the puzzle.__

__Thanks for reading and commenting.__

_**Chapter 121.**_

_Ricky's grandfather didn't answer his own phone, of course. But when I mentioned my name to __the__ minion __who did__, __Locarno__ came to the phone. "What can I do for you, Dr. House?"_

_"I'm calling on behalf of the hospital."_

_He sighed. "You want a donation?"_

_"No. Well, we wouldn't turn one down, but what I'm calling about is the hospital board. We have an opening or two. If you're interested, I'm sure our administrator, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, would be happy to have you."_

_"I'm already on the boards of two other hospitals in the area." __Locarno sounded annoyed._

_I had to lay it on thick. __"And that means you have experience dealing with doctors and hospital policies and the like."_

_He sighed. __"What do you really want, Doctor?"_

_I knew he'd be sharp. You don't get where he was without brains. __But I hadn't expected him to be so suspicious. __There was one other thing to try before I admitted the truth. "We have a situation, someone who's trying for a hostile takeover, and we need to preempt the threat. I'm sure you've dealt with similar situations in the past. We need a highly respected, civic-minded businessman like you."_

_It took him a minute to respond. "__And who is attempting the takeover?"_

_I took a chance. __"His name is Carlo Molin__o."_

_"The name means nothing to m__e." __It was hard to tell from his voice whether that was the truth__. __Being a s__uccessful businessman requires the ability to hide emotions, __play your hand close to your chest__._

_"He's acting through Peter Giordan__o." Let's see whether that name __gets a different response__, __I thought._

_"From Dorsey?" He laughed. "I don't think you really have a problem. Giordano is all bluster, no real clou__t."_

_Bingo. __"__You know the man?"_

_"__I've met him on occasion."_

_And he's not trying to hide it. __"__Y__ou don't think much of him."_

_"Small potatoes. He may be a big fish in __the__ small pond __of Dorsey__, but outside of it..." Locarno chuckled. "He'd never make it in Princeton or Trenton."_

_"He's __about to try. He's __mov__ed__ here."_

_"__Has__ he? I hope he doesn't expect to be taken seriously by the business community."_

_"He __plans to__ start with a restaurant, but he's also __pushing__ to join the hospital board. __I guess that'll give him the prestige he lacks.__"_

_"At the behest of this Molino you mentioned. What exactly is the connection between them?" __He couldn't hide his curiosity._

_"I was hoping you could tell me that."_

_"Me? __I'm sorry Doctor. While I know a bit about Peter Giordano, I never heard of this Molino."_

_"That's strange. He owns at least two successful businesses in this area, although he lives in Italy."_

_He chuckled. "Do you know how many businesses there are in Trenton alone? I can't possibly know every business owner."_

_I sensed I couldn't get further with the man, but I didn't want the call to be in vain. "What about the hospital board? Are you interested?"_

_"I'll think about it. Perhaps one of my sons would be a better choice. Yes, maybe I'll mention it to Marcello." He closed the connection without saying goodbye._

_It was two-thirty, time for me to head over to the hotel for my meeting with Giordano. I realized I __now knew something__ about him __and his standing in the community __that I didn't before. __T__he call to Locarno wasn't a waste at all._

_Giordano was waiting where he said he'd be, __sitting at a high top table and __nursing a glass of something amber. Guess he drank when he was anxious about something. __A__s I sat down, I signaled that I wanted to order a drink, too. __A waiter appeared and I ordered Maker's Mark._

_"A bourbon man." Giordano smiled._

_"Sometimes." I screwed up one side of my face. "Have you ever had Maker's Mark 46?"_

_"Can't say as I have. But you didn't arrange to meet with me to talk about whiskey."_

_I scratched the side of my face, prolonging his agony. "No."_

_"You said something about a proposition. This doesn't have something to do with my daughters' new business, does it?"_

_I shook my head. "I know I mentioned the Locarnos to you before."_

_He nodded. "What about 'em?"_

_"I heard that they're maneuvering to put a member of the family on the hospital board. The very seat you're planning on buying your way into."_

_Maybe it was the light, but his face seemed to turn three shades darker and much redder. "They can't do that!"_

_"I'm afraid they can. As much money as you have, they have hundreds of times more. And they're well-established and connected in this part of the state." I watched his eyes, although it was impossible to be sure of what he was thinking._

_"House, I have to get that seat. It's my in to the movers and shakers in Princeton. Opening a business, whether it's a restaurant or something else, won't be enough."_

_"I hear you." __So I was right about his motives._

_"What do I have to do to get the hospital to back me __against the Locarnos__?"_

_I pretended to think about it, knitting my brows and rubbing my chin. "Maybe if you meet with Dr. Cuddy and promise her you won't interfere with her running of the place."_

_"Of course. Anything."_

_One mission completed. I smiled at him. _

_He scratched his head. __"I left a message for __Ricky Locarno to __ca__ll me about a property for my new restaurant. Now I'm not so sure I want to deal with any Locarnos."_

_That gave me an opening I couldn't refuse to use. "__Did you hear that Ricky__ was almost attacked last night?"_

_"What?"_

_"Yeah. Luckily, he got away from the hoodlum who was after him, a guy called Giancarlo. From Palermo."_

_His thick eyebrows lifted as high as they could go. "Why would anyone be after __a real estate agent__?"_

_"Why indeed. As you know, his family has never had any problems with either the law or the mob."_

_"__Have you spoken to him? __Does he know why anyone targeted him?"_

_"Giancarlo was sent by a man called Carlo Molino." I watched __for __his reaction to the name. __It was __fleeting, but definitely there. "You ever hear of him?"_

_"No, no. How could I if he's in Sicily and I'm here?"_

_"Who said he's in Sicily?"_

_"You said this...this Giancarlo is from Palermo."_

_"I did, didn't I?" Should I press it, or wait for another time? No, the sooner the better. "Carlo is convinced someone in the Locarno family was instrumental in the accidental death of his wife."_

_"If it was accidental..."_

_A piece of several puzzles suddenly connected for me. I did my best to keep from reacting. "Accidents can be arranged."_

_He __face paled__. "Uh, I guess so. So one of the Locarno's arranged for Molino's wife's death."_

_"I didn't say that, only that Carlo says so."_

_He was silent for a couple of minutes, trying to hide his unease by sipping the __second __drink the bartender had just delivered, but his hand shook and it splashed over the side of the glass._

_"Of course, if Carlo arranged it, he'd tr__y__ to shift the blame to someone else." I shook my head. "Organizing your own wife's fatal accident is cold, one of the worst crimes I can think of."_

_He swallowed loudly. "What makes you think this Carlo fellow planned his wife's death?"_

_"Just a feeling I have, a hunch. But my hunches are often right on. The thing is, I don't know how he could have arranged it long-distance. __There had to be someone here who helped him.__"_

_"You said he's in Sicily."_

_"Yeah."_

_"So how come the wife died here?" __He was playing innocent but it wasn't working._

_"__We think s__he came here for fertility treatments. I don't think anyone was supposed to know." I sipped my own drink. Smooth, but it warmed my throat going down. "__I'm not even sure Carlo knew."_

_"How did you find out?" Giordano couldn't hide his curiosity._

_I smiled. "I'm a doctor. I have connections in the medical community." It was plausible and there was no reason for him to doubt it. It was even true, up to a point. "Tell me, Mr. Giordano, have you ever had a car souped up or detailed?"_

_"Huh?" He couldn't have faked his confusion over the change in topics._

_"Molino owns a couple of car shops. I was just curious whether you'd ever been to one of them."_

_"Here in Princeton?"_

_"One's near here and the other's closer to Trenton."_

_"__I've never needed anything like that."_

_It would be easy enough to check. For one thing, his children might know. Neither Jess nor Nina had mentioned it when we talked about Molino's shops, though. "I'll arrange a meeting for you with Dr. Cuddy. If you play nice, I'm sure she'll see things your way."_

_He nodded. "Thanks for the tip about what the Locarnos are planning. But you never did say whether I should still work with Ricky Locarno to find a place for my restaurant."_

_"I don't think there'll be a problem with that." I finished my drink. Can't let good bourbon go to waste. "I'll give you a call once I've set something up with Cuddy."_

_I left him slightly more relaxed than when I arrived, but I thought part of that was because I didn't pursue any connection between him and Carlo Molino. I knew there was one, though. And I thought I knew what it might be._


	122. Chapter 122

__And House's i____nvestigat____ion goes on.__

__Thanks for reading and commenting.__

_**Chapter 122.**_

_"So now I think we'll have a bidding war for that hospital seat," I told Jess that evening over a rare steak and baked potato with everything on it. "I bet that'll make Cuddy happy."_

_Jess grinned. "She should have known what she __was__ letting herself in for when she asked you to deal with my father."_

_"The more interesting thing was his reaction to the name Carlo Molino." I scratched just below my __right __ear, not ready to share my speculations with her. I knew she was over her mother's death, as much as anyone who loved a parent could be. But I wasn't sure how she'd handle the possibility that her father had anything to do with the accident that took her mother's life. An accident that could have killed her, her sister and/or her brother, __too__._

_She shook her head. "I can't believe he's connected to Molino. What do they have in common?"_

_"They're Italian, and also businessmen. Beyond that, I don't know." I shrugged. Time to change the subject. "I learned something else about Molino, or at least I think I did."_

_"What's that?"_

_"I believe one of the reasons Francesca came to the states was to get help with a fertility issue."_

_Her eyes went wide. "You're kidding. No, of course you're not. You wouldn't have said it that way if you were." _

_"Cuddy has a friend at a hospital in Palermo who told her Molino made a contribution to their fertility study after his wife died."_

_"So? That doesn't prove anything." She grinned. "Sometimes your mind makes jumps that are beyond comprehension."_

_"__I think we should prove that I'm right about why Francesca came to New Jersey."_

_She crossed her arms in front of her. "And how do you propose to do that? Sounds like you expect me to help."_

_I nodded. "We are going to the fertility specialist at Princeton General."_

_"Huh? But why? I thought you didn't want kids. And why Princeton General? Isn't there someone at PPTH __we can talk to__?" She frowned._

_"The leading specialist __in this area __is Paul Jerome. If she came here, I'm sure that's who she__ went to __see."_

_"You can't just ask him whether she was a patient." __The indignation in her voice wasn't a good sign._

_"No. But there are ways to get that information."_

_Her eyes narrowed. "Legal ways?"_

_I shrugged and smiled._

_"So where do I come into this scheme of yours?" Her arms were still folded and the frown hadn't left her face._

_I sighed. "We're going to make an appointment to be tested. That's all we'll have to do."_

_"Famous last words."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"I mean every time you say something like that, things seem to __e__s__calate__ exponentially and become much more complicated." She closed her eyes, then opened them again. "I realize how important it is for you to solve this puzzle, but I don't have the time right now to play games, __especially with strangers__."_

_I hadn't expected this kind of reaction from her. "I promise. Once we go to see Je__rome__ and get tested, I'll take it from there. You won't have to do anything else." I wasn't going to beg. Worse came to worse, I'd find someone else to do this with me._

_Jess sighed. She nodded slightly. "Okay. When do we see Je__rome__?"_

_"__The sooner, the better. I'll try to make an appointment for tomorrow or the next day."_

_"Maybe I should do that. Isn't it usually the woman who consults the specialist and the man goes along reluctantly?" She put her hands on either side of my face. "I'll call in the morning and find out whether they can fit us in."_

_I smiled at her, guessing she was over her original reluctance to pursue this plan._

_"Who knows what will come of it, though." She smirked._

_I wondered what she meant by that, but hid my confusion by pulling her closer and kissing her. "That's my girl."_

_In the morning, after breakfast, she made the call. I sat at her side, listening intently to her side of the conversation._

_"Yes, we can be there at two." She grinned at me and held up the thumb of her free hand. "Thank you very much." She finished the call and turned to me. "So what's going to happen when they find that there's nothing wrong with either of us?"_

_I shrugged. I hadn't really thought about next steps. Somehow I thought they'd find something, or at least say they did so they could get us to pay for all kinds of treatments. "If th__ey tell us there's nothing wrong__, we'll figure out what to do. But by then, I'll have the information I'm after, so it won't really matter."_

_"__Well, I'd better get over to Nina's. We're still brainstorming on a name. She seems to like Mobile Munchies. I'm leaning toward Traveling Tastes."_

_"Good luck." But my mind wasn't on the name for her business. "I'll meet you at Trenton General at two." I kissed her goodbye, __then finished my second cup of coffee and put the mug in the dishwasher. _

_There was something else I should check, but for the life of me I couldn't think of what it was, so I grabbed my keys and headed for the hospital. I grinned when it came to me halfway there. _

_None of the team were in the conference room. I settled into my desk chair and turned on my computer. There had to be records of the accident that killed Jess, Nina and Petey's mother, a newspaper story or an accident report or something. It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. The headline was "Theresa Giordano Killed in Car Accident." The truck driver who hit them was charged with DWI and manslaughter. A later, shorter article reported __that Mike Morgan__ pleaded no contest and served half of a ten__-y__ear sentence before being released on good behavior. _

_The name Mike Morgan was common enough, so why did it ring a bell? I brought up the articles I'd bookmarked when I researched Francesca's death. Bingo! Mike Morgan was the man whose car hit hers. __I don't believe in coincidence, but it__ could mean so many possibilities, I wasn't sure which might be true. Had Giordano and Molino met because the same man killed their wives several years apart? Or was he a hired gun, or in these cases, driver? Paid to cause the accidents? No, that was nuts. Who would __take the job__, knowing they could spend years in jail for the crimes? __And did, at least for the first one. He was acquitted __in the case of__ Francesca's death._

_I wasn't dumb enough to confront Morgan to find out what he'd tell me. Besides, what did I have __that I could use __to convince him to tell the truth?_

_I wondered what would happen if I brought it up with Jess' father. He'd probably side-step the truth, although I already knew he wasn't as good at deflecting as the master._

_Wilson appeared in my doorway, interrupting my train of thought. _

_"What do you want?"_

_"Do I have to want something?" He smirked at me. That meant trouble. "Nina said something about you having dinner with her father?"_

_"Yes. Jess and I had dinner with him at Johnny's restaurant. It's not a secret."_

_"What did he want?" __His forehead furrowed._

_"Didn't Jess __tell all__ to her sister? We sort of made nice and convinced him that Jess and Nina's new business would be successful, so he doesn't have to worry about them."_

_"That's it? Johnny didn't have a problem with having him there, __did he__?"_

_I shrugged. "Why should he? He was able to show off and make sure Peter __realized how good the restaurant is. Why? What did Nina say?"_

_"She's anxious. I think she's getting very nervous about starting this business."_

_"She shouldn't be. And her father is nothing to worry about. All she has to do is come up with a name for the company."_

_"Name?"_

_"Yes. Didn't she tell you? The name they were going to use was taken."_

_"__And you think that's their biggest problem?"_

_I smirked. "I know it is."_

_"She's seemed awfully anxious lately," __he repeated. "__Honestly, House, I don't know what to think about it."_

_"Relax. I'll have Jess find out for you. Maybe it's something she's not willing to share with you."_

_"Maybe." He looked upset by the prospect._

_"You've got it bad, haven't you?"_

_"House, she's the most amazing women I've ever met." He held his hands out, palms up._

_"More amazing than any of your wives? More than Amber?"_

_"I...I'm beginning to think so." __He half-turned to go.__ "I don't want to waste any more of your time."_

_"It 's happened before."_

_A slight smile crossed his face. "No, you're the one who's always coming by to waste my time."_

_He pointed both hands to himself. "See you later, House."_

_"Later, Wilson." I wasn't surprised how his feelings for Nina had progressed. I'd been attracted to her at first myself. But Jess was much better for me. I was amazed that she felt anything for me. I smiled __thinking about her._

_I'd always thought that caring for someone would take away my edge. __I think it was after I was shot, during my hallucinations, that I'd told Cuddy that what I had, what I valued most in myself, was my brain, my ability to connect disparate facts to obtain a diagnosis. That was my gift to the world. I might not care about all of my patients, but I'd always cared about finding the solution to the puzzle of their illness.__ There was no place in my life for a relationship. __That would only distract me. __Maybe I was wrong._

_I was still able to solve puzzles and, as Jess said earlier, to connect dots that others didn't seem to be able to. And many times the connections I saw helped me solve the mystery at hand. So what was eluding me this time? There was a connection between Peter Giordano and Carlo Molino through the man who killed both their wives, but what I needed was a connection between Molino and the Locarnos. I didn't know of any Locarno wives that had been killed in a car accident. In fact, the only accident I knew of was Ricky's, and that was on the track during a car race._

_The people who would know were Tina and __her brother, uncle and grandfather, but she was probably the only one I could approach. Would she think it odd if I called and asked her to lunch? The only way to find out was to try._

_I found her number and punched it in. "Tina, this is Dr. House. How are you today?" __I hate small talk, but sometimes it's necessary._

_"Just fine." There was a cautious note in her voice._

_"I wanted to thank you for sending us to your brother. You know, he found the perfect property for Jess and Nina for their new business."_

_"Yes, I heard. That's so cool."_

_"I wondered if you were free for lunch today."_

_There was silence on the other end of the phone, but finally she said, "Yes, I'm free."_

_"Jess and I would like to take you out to thank you." __I didn't know whether Jess would agree, but if not, I could always say something came up and she couldn't make it._

_"Sure. Where and when?"_

_I did a fist pump and told her._


	123. Chapter 123

__And House's i____nvestigat____ion goes on.__

__Thanks for reading and commenting.__

_**Chapter 123.**_

_As I expected, Jess was busy, but when I told her I'd be meeting Tina for lunch, she said, "Let me see if I can get away at least for a short time."_

_Now I had to decide how I would pump Tina about her brother's accident without alerting Jess that I was trying to connect it to her mother's death and Francesca Molino's. I don't know why I was so reluctant to share my thoughts. She knew what kind of man her father was, but she also still had a vestige of feeling for him. If he was responsible for the accident, it would destroy that. Not that I cared. Much. _

_I collected all the info I could on the race where Ricky injured his legs. There'd been no indication that anyone tampered with his car or that any other drivers forced him into the side wall of the track. __He wasn't distracted by anyone or anything. In fact, there was no explanation for why it happened._

_My team was returning to the conference room when I escaped. "Going to lunch. See you later."_

_I was sure they were staring at my back as I headed for the elevator._

_Tina was already at the pizza and pasta place I'd picked, and so was Jess. _

_"I love this place." Tina smiled as we were seated. "They have the best fettucine Alfredo."_

_"I like their calzones myself." But Jess looked at the menu anyway._

_Our waitress brought us ice water and asked what we wanted to drink. _

_Tina surprised me by asking for an Italian soda. Cherry. I would have thought she was an iced tea person._

_Now Jess __loved her iced tea__. And I ordered a beer. St. Pauli Girl. Why they served a German beer like that in an Italian restaurant I'll never know._

_"So, what did you want to know?" Tina asked as soon as the waitress was gone. "You didn't ask me to lunch just to thank me for giving you my brother's name."_

_Since she was being so straightforward, I decided to do the same. "What do you know about his accident?"_

_She shrugged. "He lost control of his car on the track and crashed into a wall." Her head went back and forth. "That's all there is to it."_

_"Why did he lose control?"_

_"Huh?" She glanced at Jess as if she knew why I was asking, but Jess only frowned and drew her eyebrows together._

_"There was nothing suspicious about it?" I knew I was pushing, but this was important._

_"Dr. House, I've told you all I know. The only one who might know more is Ricky himself. Why aren't you asking him?"_

_"Ever heard of someone named Mike Morgan?"_

_Tina pulled back and shook her head. Jess had a completely different reaction. All the color drained from her face and she looked at me with a mixture of surprise and pain._

_"House, why are you asking about the man who caused the accident that killed my mother?" Her voice was deathly calm but there was a tremor underneath she couldn't quite hide._

_I knew this was coming, but I didn't have an answer for her. _

_"__Your mother?" Tina asked. "Your mother was killed, too?"_

_Jess nodded. "In a car accident. Nearly ten years ago now. My brother, sister and I were in the car, too. Petey was driving. He'd just gotten his license. We were hit by a drunk truck driver named Mike Morgan."_

_Tina went white listening to her. "My mother's car was hit, too. They never found the man, and she was alone so there were no witnesses."_

_All I could think about was that I'd been looking into the wrong accident._

_"When did this happen?"_

_"About a month after Ricky's mishap on the track. She was on her way to see him that night."_

_Okay, so two women killed in car accidents involving the same 'other driver' might be a coincidence, but when you throw in another, and granted, there was no evidence Morgan was involved in the third occurrence, still, this was sounding too much like a conspiracy of some sort._

_"__Greg__ you think there's a connection." Jess voice was still strained but she was over her initial shock._

_I nodded. "Francesca Molino was killed by the same person as your mother. How much you wanna bet he was involved in Tina's mother's death?"_

_"Oh, my God!" Tina slapped a hand to her mouth._

_"But if there were no witnesses, how are you going to prove it after all these years, and …" Jess trailed __off as the implications began to sink in. "You think my father ordered my mother's death just as Molino ordered his wife's?" __Jess seemed to shrink into herself. Looking down at the table, her mouth half-open, she pressed her eyes closed until tears began to escape. She looked up at me with glistening lids and cheeks. "You can't be right. Whatever else my father has done, I can't believe he'd do anything to hurt my mother or any of us."_

_"Jess, I know it's hard to believe."_

_"Hard? How about impossible."_

_Tina watched us argue. She put a hand on __Jess' arm. "Maybe there's another explanation. I certainly can't think of anyone who'd pay someone to – to kill my mother."_

_Jess __nodded__. "We don't even know whether Mike Morgan was involved in that."_

_"But we do know he was charged in your mother's death, and arrested, but let go, in the accident that took Francesca's life." __I laid it out as simply as I could. "It's hard to deny those facts. I'll admit there might be another explanation, that your father met Molino because they shared their hatred of the man who took their wives from them."_

_"See?" Tina smiled. "That's your explanation!"_

_Jess bobbed her head, but she still wasn't smiling. "Greg, when were you going to tell me your suspicions?"_

_"I – I just found the connections, and that's why I wanted to talk to Tina, to see if she knew anything about Ricky's accident that might be related. I didn't even know about her mother."_

_"So you planned to tell me."_

_"Of course."_

_She smirked, then exhaled. "So where do we go from here?"_

_"Tina, is there anyone who might know more about your mother's death?" The answer would tell us how to proceed._

_She frowned, more in concentration than objection to the question. "Uncle Marcello might. After our dad died ten years ago, he kinda took care of Mom, Ricky and me. He never had his own family."_

_"Your father died ten years ago?" Jess beat me to it. It was like a red flag._

_She nodded. Her frown was now sad. "Cancer."_

_Jess and I exhaled together. At least that was one death that wasn't related._

_"What about your grandfather?" I prodded._

_"He might know something, but getting anything out of him is like...what's the expression?...oh, yeah, wringing water from a stone. Not just money, but information, too."_

_"So, Marcello it is. He seemed like a pretty good guy." I watched her expression._

_She nodded, the frown finally gone from her pretty little face. "Uncle Marcello is a sweetheart. He's been very good to Ricky, and me too, sometimes."_

_"Tina, you've been very helpful." Jess put a hand on the girl's arm, then looked at me. "I know Dr. House appreciates it, although it's not in his nature to say so."_

_"Who sez?" I smiled at Tina. "You've been great. I'm sorry I brought up some painful memories, but it's important for us to get to the bottom of the all."_

_She nodded, but asked. "Why is it so important to you to find out what happened to Julio's cousin?"_

_"The story __Francesco's husband__ told him, about your family being involved in her death, didn't seem right." I couldn't really explain that to her, since I wasn't sure why it nagged at me so much._

_A smile flickered across Jess' face. __"__Dr. __House likes puzzles, things that don't make sense, and mostly he likes to be the one to make sense of them."_

_"__Julio was convinced that your family had nothing to do with it, so I've been digging to find out who did. It was beginning to look like Molino himself was involved somehow." I watched her face. Her eyes said she understood._

_"But what made you look at the name of the person who ran into __Francesca__?" She had a good grasp of my thought process._

_T__he next part __of my explanation __might be hard for Jess. I looked at __her__ before I spoke, wondering how much to tell._

_"You've been looking for people who reacted to the name Carlo Molino, haven't you?" She beat me to it. She swallowed loudly. "My father, he knows Molino somehow."_

_I nodded. "Or at least knows of him. I wondered what they had in common. It wasn't that hard to find once I knew where to look."_

_"__Greg, I know you suspect Molino of arranging his wife's death, but did you think my father was capable of that even before __you learned he knew Molino__?"_

_I rubbed my jaw, then shook my head. "Not really, which is why I think they only know each other through Mike Morgan. Morgan was convicted in the case of your mother's death. And your father blamed Petey in part for the accident. On the other hand, in the case of Francesca's death, he wasn't even brought to trial. I think Molino didn't press charges."_

_"Because he arranged it and promised Morgan he wouldn't." Jess nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."_

_"But if this Morgan wasn't charged in Francesca's death, how did Jess' father know about it?"_

_Jess pursed her lips. "I think my father followed Morgan's life after the accident, at least as well as he could. I remember him saying something when he was released from prison."_

_"So now how do we tie either Ricky's accident, or my mother's accident into all of this?"_

_I smiled at Tina. "I'm going to have to make an appointment with your Uncle Marcello."_

_"__He's a good guy and very approachable." She glanced at her watch. "Well, thanks for lunch. I have a class this afternoon and have to go. Good luck in figuring this out. If I think of anything I'll let you know." She wiped her mouth, dropped her napkin on her place and was gone._

_"She's a nice kid. I'm glad she and Julio are dating."_

_"Is that what the kids call it these days?" I rolled my eyes._

_Jess laughed. "So, now that you've got this new angle to work, does it mean we can cancel our appointment with the fertility specialist?"_

_I smirked at her. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."_


	124. Chapter 124

__It's time for ____House ____and Jess to visit the fertility specialist. Will the results be what they're after or something else entirely?____

__Thanks for reading, and ____you know how much I love your ____comment____s____.__

_**Chapter 124.**_

_We took my car to Princeton General. I'd been there before a few times to see patients when doctors asked for __my __expert opinion, but I didn't make a habit of it. I didn't want them to take advantage of my brain, __become dependent on me to help them out whenever they reached an impasse._

_The doctors had offices in a building adjacent __to the hospital__. We took the elevator up to the sixth floor and easily found Jerome's office. Judging by the number of patients in the waiting room, mainly __couples__, he had a sizable practice. _

_Tastefully furnished with light-colored wood furniture and pastel printed cushions, the waiting room had a calming and rich feel. Jess and I found two seats together after leaving our name with the receptionist. She called us back and handed us __the requisite__ new patient form. _

_Some of the questions were rather personal, but I was expecting that. __A lot had to do with the woman's cycles, __whether they'd been regular or not, __although there were some on caffeine and drug use, __and of course, on sexual practices__. __I let Jess do the honors of filling it out. __Meanwhile I looked around. The receptionist __with the long blond hair__ might be a good person to tap for information. __I watched her answer the phone, take messages, and work on her computer, __occasionally sweeping her hair back with a hand__. She appeared to be the observant t__ype__, looking over the waiting patients periodically._

_"I'll take that back," I whispered to Jess when she __answer__ed the end of the questions._

_She raised an eyebrow but didn't object, handing the clipboard and form to me and selecting a magazine from the end table on her other side. Probably a two-year-old copy of People._

_I took the form back to blondie, and tried my pleasantest smile on her. "Guess you see a lot of patients here."_

_She smiled back. "People want to have kids, and sometimes they can't. It's wonderful what a difference it can make in a couple's life to have a little one."_

_"Yeah, I hope so." I attempted wistful._

_"__Have you and your wife been trying long?"_

_I shrugged. "You know. I guess we're more anxious because I'm not as young as Jess is."_

_She looked past me to Jess and nodded. "Well, Dr. Jerome has had excellent results no matter what the age of the man or woman." __Her voice was soft and pleasant._

_"That's good to know." I looked around the room. "I suppose people come here from everywhere, not only New Jersey."_

_"Yes, a lot of our patients are from out of town. In fact, we occasionally get some from overseas."_

_"No kidding! Wow!" I may have overdone my amazement, but she didn't seem to pick up on that._

_She leaned closer. "I can't talk about specific patients, but we had a couple from Mexico who came in last month. The doctor thinks they'll be pregnant within a couple of months."_

_"Wonderful. Then, I guess there's hope for everyone, huh?"_

_"Well, not exactly everyone." She moved closer still and lowered her voice. "There was a woman. She came alone. All the way from Italy! Doc found there was nothing wrong with her, but she wouldn't accept that it had to be her husband's fault she couldn't conceive, or maybe it was the husband who wouldn't accept that. __We never saw him.__"_

_"What happened?"_

_"I don't know. She didn't come back." Her eyebrows knotted. "I think I heard she was in a car accident or something."_

_I__ couldn't let her know that what she said was everything __I__ was after. "Poor woman."_

_"Yes. Of course, most of our patients' stories have much happier endings." She waved her hands to indicate the pictures of smiling families covering the walls, couples and their babies mostly. "I hope you and your wife will have that kind of result."_

_"Thank you." __I__ glanced at Jess. "We hope so too." __She__ caught my__ glance and smiled, giving __me__ an excuse to go back to __my__ seat. "Time to get back to the little woman. It's been very __inspiring talking to you."_

_"We'll talk again." The blond woman __turned__ back to her computer and __I__limped over__ to __my__ seat next to Jess._

_"Well? She seemed to be confiding all sorts of things to you." __Jess waited with eager eyes for me to tell her all I'd learned._

_I looked around but no one was paying any attention to us. Still, I lowered my voice to a whisper. "She didn't mention her by name, but she referred to an Italian woman who came alone. She was fine. The doctor concluded the problem was with her hubby. Guess Molino didn't take kindly to that."_

_Jess nodded. "That could explain some things."_

_"Yeah, but only some. There had to be something else that triggered the hit on Francesca."_

_"Oh, now you're calling it a hit?"_

_"What else would you call it?" The woman sitting __next to me__ was called into the doctor's office. I waited until she __kissed the man with her and left__ before __I went__ on. "It's a good start, but we're not done here yet."_

_Jess smirked. "I didn't think so."_

_I tried to interest myself in an article about Brad Pitt and Angelina and their brood of adopted kids. The best parts were the pictures of Angie. Bet when those kids grew up they'd be happy to have a mother who looked like that. Or maybe not._

_Finally the nurse called, "House."_

_Jess and I followed her into a tastefully furnished office, all real wood with __beige __plush carpet and soft blue-gray walls._

_"The doctor will be with you shortly." The nurse left a file on the unnaturally cleared desk. I always thought a doctor should have piles of files to show how busy he was. I guessed Jerome didn't feel the need. It was obvious he had a large and lucrative practice. __I resisted the urge to look at our file. Probably all that was in it so far was the form Jess filled out._

_We didn't have to wait long. Jerome was a tall man, although not as tall as me, maybe 6'3'', with a thick head of sandy-colored hair. _

_"Mr. and Mrs. House, what brings you to my practice?"_

_"What brings anyone here? And it's Dr. House and Miss Giordano."_

_He inclined his head. "I'll make a note of that. So, you wish to conceive. How long have you been trying?"_

_Jess and I exchanged a glance. We hadn't been trying at all. But of course, we couldn't say that._

_Simultaneously, I said, "Three years", and Jess said, "Five years."_

_"Which is it?"_

_I let Jess answer this time. "__We started five years ago, but have only been ___really___ trying for three."_

_He nodded. "That's typical for my patients." His eyes scanned the questionnaire Jess filled out. Hopefully it agreed with what she said. "Dr. House, it says here you're in your fifties. Do you have any children?"_

_"Not that I know of."_

_His right eyebrow went up. Only the one. Interesting he could do that. Probably he practiced for just the right effect. "And Miss Giordano, may I presume the same for you?"_

_"Yes." She smiled at him and settled back in her chair. "No kids. No pregnancies."_

_"Well, we'll have to do some tests, of course. Motility, sonograms of Miss Giordano's ovaries. These are standard screenings to determine if there are any obvious problems." __He took off his steel-rimmed glasses and stared at me.__ "Doctor, I see you've used assorted drugs in the past, especially Vicodin."_

_That was bound to__ come up. __I nodded. "I'm hoping that didn't have any lasting effects, __but __that might be why we haven't conceived."_

_"Well, the nurse will take you to the examination room and take the samples we need, then schedule a sonogram for Mrs...that is Miss Giordano." He smiled at us. "I'm sure we'll find a way to solve any problems we find." __He put the glasses back on._

_"I noticed that some of the women in the waiting room were alone. Do you have many women who come here without their partners? What happens when you find they're okay?" I hoped he'd be as forthcoming as his receptionist._

_He shook his head. "I can't really talk about that. It violates the privacy of some of my patients."_

_I nodded. "Of course."_

_The nurse entered, then took us to another room, this one more clinical in appearance. She took blood samples, __then handed me a cup and sent me to the nearby bathroom for a urine sample. I wonder__ed for the first time__ what it would show. __I knew __what Vicodin could do__. __Not that it mattered, since we didn't want any kids. This was only a way to get information on Francesca. But that didn't mean I couldn't be curious about what my test __results would be__. It never even entered my mind that Jess would have a problem._

_The nurse finished with us and sent us back to the receptionist who scheduled Jess for a sonogram the next day. __We left and walked to the elevator. Jess had an odd look on her face._

_"What are you thinking?"_

_She smirked. "Don't you know? __I thought the all-knowing Dr. House co__u__ld practically read minds."_

_"Are you evading my question? Because I'm the master of that and no one can beat me at it."_

_She swallowed and looked away._

_"Jess?"_

_She turned back. "Greg, I'm not sure I can go through with this."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"What if...what if we find out we really can't have kids?"_

_I shrugged. "We didn't want any so why is that a problem?"_

_Her face closed up, as if I said something that made her feel even worse than she already __did__. Did she want a child at some time? Did she hope I'd change my mind? I put my hands on her shoulders, then took her chin in my right hand and made her look up into my eyes. "__Just o__ur luck, we'll both __be just fine." I forced a smile._

_She mustered one, too. "Of course, you're right." The elevator door opened and she took my hand as we got on._

_But I was beginning to rethink this part of my plan to get info on Francesca Molino. If it was already giving Jess ideas, what would happen if the doctor did say there was nothing to stop us from conceiving? _


	125. Chapter 125

__We'll be on vacation for a week beginning Tuesday, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to post, or even write, the next chapter. Hopefully I can have something for you by Wednesday 8/21.__

__Thanks for reading, and ____you know how much I love your ____comment____s____.__

_**Chapter 125.**_

_I kept glancing at Jess' face all the way down in the elevator and __again__ as we strode to my car. She seemed to have several ideas warring in her brain. It wasn't until we got in that I said anything. "If you want to stop the charade now, I'll understand. I have other avenues to explore..."_

_She shook her head and interrupted me. "I think I want to go through with this. It's...it's important that we find out whether Francesca was the woman the receptionist told you about." Her focus narrowed. "It would be interesting to learn when she visited Dr. Jerome, how long before her accident."_

_I nodded. That was an important piece of her part of the puzzle. "Then I'll take you for the sonogram tomorrow."_

_"I wouldn't be surprised if she had one as part of her evaluation. Maybe the technician can tell us something."_

_I finally relaxed, knowing she was focused on our search for information about Francesca, and not on what the results of our tests would show. And she'd dropped her concerns about her father's part in her mother's death, __at least temporarily._

_"Hungry?" I asked. We were nearing her favorite Mexican food place._

_"I thought you'd never ask." She looked out the window and grinned. "I'd die for an enchilada or two."_

_"I don't think we'll have to go to that extreme." I turned down the next street and pulled into the lot of Eduardo's Enchiladas. It was a tiny place, off the main drag, but always busy with people who'd found it somehow. _

_"__Doctor, Signorina, welcome, welcome." Eduardo himself greeted us at the door and looked around for an empty table. The short, round man was always fussing over his regulars. "The couple in the corner will be finished soon, no? I will have the table ready for you quickly." He called to a thin young man and spoke to him in rapid fire Spanish._

_"Si, Senor Garcia." He approached the table and waited for the man and woman to leave before replacing the tablecloth, napkins and utensils quickly and efficiently._

_"Ah, see? Already ready." Eduardo took two menus from the stack and led __us__ to the table._

_Once he was gone, __I__ faced Jess. "I'm surprised you haven't added Eduardo to your suppliers."_

_"We thought about it. Perhaps when the business expands."_

_"Expands?"_

_She nodded. Closing the menu, she leaned toward __me__. "Nina and I have some ideas about that, but first we have to get The Catered Affair going." _

_The same young man who'd cleared and set __our__ table returned with ice water and a wire basket of __chips and small dishes of salsa__. Jess took a __chip__, bit into it and chewed vigorously._

_"That's what you finally decided to call it?" __I kept my sneer to myself._

_"If it's not already taken. I have a feeling it is. Nina was checking on that today. We also considered An Affair to Remember. She's checking that __one, __too." _

_I knew she'd chatter on about this to avoid talking about what she was really thinking, and I let her, because I wasn't ready either._

_We both ordered enchiladas, smothered in a red chile sauce and topped with cheese, a specialty of Eduardo's. While we waited for our food, she recited a litany of the idiotic names they'd considered. They were so dumb, I can't even remember them. I know I laughed when I thought it appropriate._

_Finally, Eduardo presented our steaming plates himself, two huge enchiladas with sides of the traditional rice and beans, and a bit of shredded lettuce and tomatoes. I took a bite. Just the right amount of cilantro and pepper flakes to wake up my mouth without burning it._

_After we'd eaten about half our food, Jess took a sip of her ice water and cleared her throat. "How do we find out when my father met Molino?"_

_I guess it __had become __one of the less difficult __things for her __to talk about._

_"__I'm going to try__ to find out why the charges against Morgan were dropped in Francesca's case."_

_"But..."_

_I help up a hand. "I know that won't tell us anything about your father, but it might give us names of people we can approach."_

_"Besides Morgan himself."_

_"Jess, I'm not that suicidal." I'd been thinking of ways I could approach him, but she didn't have to worry about that. "I guess I'll also have to talk to your father again." I scratched the back of my neck._

_"__Haven't you already gotten all you could from him?"_

_"Don't you want me to talk to him?"_

_"I've been thinking about it. Maybe Nina or Petey know something about the week before the accident. I'd just returned from school the day before, but I wonder whether Dad was acting strangely."_

_That was an avenue I hadn't thought of. Maybe she was right. Nina would be the easier one. __In addition to __being older, she tended to be more observant than their brother. I nodded. "Maybe I'll come in for a few minutes when I drop you off at her place. I assume that's where I'm taking you__ after dinner__."_

_"__Yes__. Uncle Johnny sent us a menu change and we have to figure out how it will affect our fliers."_

_We refocused on our food, and finished our meal off with a dish of flan. I paid and thanked Eduardo for another excellent meal and were on our way again._

_I parked not far from Nina's building, and we took the elevator up to her place. I hadn't been there since she was sick after their abduction. The décor in the lobby and hallways still struck me as pretentious, but Nina didn't seem to mind. __At least h__er apartment was more tasteful. _

_She answered the door and let us in. "How'd it go?"_

_I didn't know whether Jess told her where we went or why, so I let Jess reply._

_"Mostly we filled out a questionnaire, talked to the doctor for less than ten minutes and then had blood drawn for tests." Jess tossed her purse on the counter separating the kitchen from the dinette. "I have to go back tomorrow for a sonogram."_

_Nina nodded. "Did you find out anything?"_

_Jess smiled. "Yeah. Francesca was there, and the doctor didn't find anything wrong with her."_

_"__So the problem was with Carlo?"_

_"That's what __Dr. __Jerome surmised, according to his receptionist." __I__ smirked. "__Molino__ probably couldn't accept that."_

_"Would you?" __Nina didn't wait for me to answer, but I'd already been expecting that might be the case. "So now what? Besides your sonogram tomorrow, that is."_

_"Actually that will give me a chance to grill the person who does it, find out what they know about Francesca."_

_"They won't tell you, will they?"_

_Jess shrugged. "We'll see."_

_Nina turned to me. "Don't you have to be at the hospital? What are you doing here?"_

_I glanced at Jess, wondering what she'd told her sister about the man who caused their mother's death._

_"Nina, sit down." Jess put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "There's something we want to talk to you about."_

_Nina's face clouded over. "What's wrong?" She collapsed into the nearest chair._

_"Greg found out that the man who caused Mom's death is the same man who crashed into Francesca's car, killing her." Jess sat too._

_"You're sure?" Nina looked at me._

_I nodded. "Also, your father knows Molino. We think it's because of this connection, but we're still not sure what it means."_

_"But you suspect Molino of arranging his wife's death. You can't really believe Father had anything to do with..." she trailed off as the possibility hit her. "Oh, no!" She buried her head in her hands._

_Jess reached over and squeezed her arm. "That's exactly what I said when I first heard about the connection. But, Nina, there could be another explanation." __When Nina looked up at her, Jess' eyes pleaded with her sister to calm down._

_Nina nodded and sniffed back tears. "I don't know why I'm so upset. It isn't as if I had any respect left for our father."_

_"But he is our father. Even if we hated him, and I don't think we do, but if we did it would still be horrid to believe he might have planned the accident that killed Mom. __At this point I doubt it. This thing is__, there was no way to know that anyone would be killed."_

_"That's true." Nina looked at me. "What do you think?"_

_"I don't know what to think. __After all that I've learned about Molino, and Francesca's death, I'm still at a loss. Where your father comes into it is another mystery laid on top of the rest. And then there's __t__he Locarnos."_

_"What about them?" Nina sat back._

_"Mike Morgan wasn't involved in Ricky's accident, but Tina told us her mother was killed in an accident and she doesn't know enough about it to know whether his name ever came up. I'll have to talk to Marcello about that."_

_"You think that's connected, too?"_

_I shrugged. "Nina, I have to ask you something."_

_"Now what?"_

_"How much do you remember about the accident?"_

_She looked at Jess, then back to me. "I've never remembered it happening or the first few minutes after__ward__. The first thing I remember was the paramedic examining me."_

_"How about the __week or even the month before. Was there anything..." I took a breath, unsure how to put this. "...anything odd about your mother's behavior?"_

_"My mother? You're not asking about my fath__er?"_

_"__Well, him too, but first, what about your mother?"_

_"Of course not," she replied without even thinking about it, but then her eyes got that faraway look._

_After a couple of minutes, Jess prompted her. "Nina?"_

_She focused again. "It seems so long ago."_

_"It was ten years."_

_She nodded. "I can't think of anything, although Mom and Dad did argue about a few things. They argued before that, but these arguments were different, like there was something going on I didn't know about." She rubbed her eyes. "One of the fights was about Petey. Come to think about it, there were a few about him, about his driving but mostly about the way Dad excused all of his failures."_

_That didn't fit with what I knew about their brother's relationship with their father. "I thought your father blamed Petey for the accident."_

_"Yeah, that's why it was so devastating to Petey. Dad never thought he could do anything wrong __before that__."_

_Jess nodded. "Nina's right. I think Petey was devastated enough about Mom's death, and then to have Dad blame him made it that much worse." _

_"Did your parents argue about anything else?" I asked Nina._

_"About the number of hours Dad worked, but neither seemed as passionate about that."_

_"Nina, did you ever see Mike Morgan before the accident?"_

_"Dorsey's a small town. I guess I saw him around. Certainly he drove by in his truck now and then."_

_"He's from Dorsey?" Now that was something I hadn't known. "So what was he doing in Princeton when his truck hit Francesca's car?"_

_"Good question."_


	126. Chapter 126

__I apologize for how long it's been since the last chapter, but I had little time to write while I was away.__

__Thanks for reading, and ____you know how much I love your ____comment____s____.__

_**Chapter 126.**_

_Jess and Nina __still had the problem of a __company name. The two __that __Jess mentioned to me earlier turned out to be taken, and neither of the __sisters__ was enamored of my latest suggestion, Hell on Wheels._

_Jess shook her head. __"__It sounds like a food truck." _

_"Yes, one selling devil's food cake." Nina rolled her eyes._

_I left __them__ to continue brainstorming._

_My next task was to find out when Mike Morgan moved to Princeton. Was it right after he was released from prison? If I could learn that, and also where, and especially when Molino might have learned about him, it would go a long way toward solving all of the mysteries._

_The trouble was, I didn't know where to start. Or did I? Hadn't Jess said her father kept track of Morgan's prison stay and release? Guess I had to tackle Papa Giordano one more time. I only hoped it was the last time I would be pumping him for information._

_First I called Marcello and made my appointment with him. He couldn't see me until early the next afternoon. That would be after Jess' sonogram. I thought a few minutes before calling Peter Sr. It would be best to talk to him after __I saw __Marcello in case I had to ask __Giordano__ something based on what I learned. __He__ wasn't there, so I left a message __asking him to meet with me the next day at three__._

_Unfortunately, that left me with several hours where I had nothing to do. I would have volunteered to work in the clinic if it meant I didn't have to think about the look on Jess' face in Dr. Jerome's office, and __later__ when she made the appointment for the sonogram. Was it the waiting room full of couples who truly wanted to become pregnant? __The pictures of smiling families? _

_The easiest thing to do would be to ignore the issue. But I knew it wouldn't go away. When we went for Jess' ultrasound, every time we went to Jerome's office, and every test he sent us for would bring it up again. Best to settle it now, so we both knew where we stood._

_I had to get her to talk about this, preferably at a time and place I controlled. Perhaps after dinner and a couple of glasses of her favorite wine. Or maybe later after a rousing bit of lovemaking. No, the first would be better. _

_Coming up with that plan hadn't taken long enough. Now I had time on my hands, and my mind kept going back to those photos. __I've had enough infant patients, toddlers like Christopher and younger ones. But I could always focus on what was wrong with them, not how – cute they are. I could understand our visit to the fertility doctor bringing out the maternal instinct in Jess. They say a woman can tell that her biological clock is ticking faster and faster. So what was I feeling?_

_No. I'd always known I wouldn't be good father material. I refused to believe I was changing my mind. __Still, I wouldn't want to deprive Jess...NO!_

_Before my mind could settle, I received a call from Jess._

_"Dr. Jerome's office called." She sounded upbeat. "The blood tests showed we're both fine. Isn't that great?"_

_"Great." I __did__n't __even __try to __muster any enthusiasm. "So you don't need the ultrasound?" Maybe we could avoid that._

_"Oh, they still want me to go for __it__." Her happiness wasn't dampened. "Well, you're probably busy. We can talk about this later. I just wanted you to know."_

_"Uh-huh. Later." I closed the connection, my mind in turmoil. __I forced myself to think about something else. There was no one in the conference room, and there was nothing on the white board. I __strode to the board and __took a marker, start__ing to__ list everything I knew about Francesca Molino and her husband __down the right side__, including what we learned in Jerome's office. __Then along the left side I wrote what I knew about the accident that killed Jess, Nina and Petey's mom. The only thing the lists had in common was Morgan, and the fact that they were killed in car accidents. Francesca had been alone in the car. Or had she?_

_I returned to my office to review the articles I'd saved about her death. I was right. There were no other victims, no one else present. Back to the board._

_The two accidents happened years apart. Either Morgan was a really bad driver, or he hit both cars intentionally. __I returned to the conference room, with nothing new to add._

_Chase came in while I was studying the board. "What's that?"_

_"Doesn't concern you."_

_"Are you still trying to find out what happened to a woman you never met? To implicate her husband, whom you've also not met?"_

_"I want to know why Julio was abducted, and Jess and Nina with him."_

_"I'd say you should become this compulsive about your cases, but then you are." He stood beside me, looking at what I'd written. "Who's this Mike Morgan?" He pointed to the name on both lists._

_"He was the one driving the other car both times."_

_"Both times?" Then he did a double take. "He killed Jess, Nina, and Petey's mother, __as well as Francesca__?"_

_I nodded._

_He let out an attempt at a whistle. "No wonder you're so interested." Chase looked at the board again. __"It could be coincidence."_

_"Could."_

_"But you don't think so."_

_I shrugged. "The only way to know for sure is to look into this Mike Morgan." I touched his name with the end of my cane. "And see what else he's been involved in over the years."_

_"Like?"_

_I took a deep breath and let it out. "Like anything to do with the Locarno family."_

_His eyes narrowed and he looked at me to explain._

_"Molino claims they're responsible for his wife's death. I want to know why. What do they have to do with the price of tea in China?"_

_He nodded, getting my meaning right away. "So, what do you do next?"_

_"I have a meeting with Marcello Locarno tomorrow."_

_"And meanwhile?"_

_I didn't have a plan for meanwhile. "Any suggestions?" Chase sometimes had a good idea. I hoped this was one of them._

_"Do you know where Morgan is living now? Where he's working?"_

_I shook my head. "I haven't been able to find out but it is something to look into."_

_"Mrs. Giordano was killed in Dorsey, wasn't she? And Francesca Molino here in Princeton?"_

_I smiled. "Yeah. Nina says Morgan lived in Dorsey before her mother was killed. I know he did time in prison, but not what happened to him after he left the care and feeding __of__ the state of New Jersey. But Peter Giordano does."_

_"Petey? How would he know?"_

_"No, not Junior. Senior. I'm meeting with him tomorrow, too."_

_Chase grinned. "That makes sense. __You could talk to Petey, too, though. Who knows what he remembers from the accident or about Morgan.__"_

_"__I'd think he'd want to forget the whole thing. His father's attitude toward him changed after that."_

_"All the more reason he might have something he needs to vent about."_

_It didn't take me long to realize how right he was. I nodded and left without a word to try and track down Jess' brother. He hadn't been around since we finished the hyperacusis study, but Jess and Nina said he'd be working with them on their new venture, so I called her._

_"Have you seen your brother lately?"_

_"Petey?"_

_"You have another one you haven't told me about?"_

_"No, of course not. Um, last time we saw him was yesterday. He stopped by Nina's briefly to ask when we'd be needing him." Her voice sounded thoughtful._

_"Did he have somewhere else to be?"_

_"He asked about the clothes he'd need for the job and we sent him to the uniform company we plan on using. But that was yesterday. I have no idea where he might be today." She paused. "Why are you looking for him?"_

_"You know me. The more brains I can pick, the better I like it."_

_"I don't think he knows anything that can help you. Greg, he's bound to have buried the accident and everything that's associated with it."_

_I wasn't so sure. "You never know what might be lurking in his mind."_

_"Well, good luck finding him."_

_"At least I'm pretty sure he hasn't gone back to Florida."_

_She chuckled and ended the call._

_I started with his motel. Why he hadn't found an apartment yet is a puzzle in itself. I chalked it up to Petey being Petey. Imagine my surprise to find him there, watching TV, a box of pizza in front of him on the unmade bed. Or what was left of a box of pizza. _

_"Hi, House. Want some?"_

_I obligingly took the last piece and sat in the only chair in the room, a large, overstuffed armchair._

_"Did you need me for something?" He took a swig from the can of Coke in his hand._

_"I know you don't like to talk about it, or even think about the accident, but I need to know what you remember."_

_His face clouded over. "I kinda expected you to bring that up someday." He stared at the screen, some __smash 'em up movie. How appropriate. He shook his head. "I was trying to drive as carefully as I could, 'cause Mom, Nina and Jess were with me. It was really bright out, and the sun was in my eyes, getting me dizzy. Guess that was from the hyperacusis. Anyway, I didn't see the truck until it hit the passenger side of the car." He rubbed his forehead. "I don't remember what happened after that."_

_"What do you remember about the week before then? How were your parents acting?"_

_"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"_

_"I'm not sure. Nina said they argued more than usual."_

_"Maybe. I guess I never noticed things like that."_

_"Your father's attitude toward you changed after the accident. Do you know why?"_

_He shrugged. "He blamed me for the accident, even though the other guy was charged."_

_"That must have hurt."_

_"Yeah, especially since I thought he loved me."_

_"What about the other guy?"_

_"The other guy? I barely knew him. Why would he love me?"_

_I refrained from rolling my eyes. "No, I mean what do you know about him?"_

_"He was a truck driver for the factory, and he was drunk." He smirked. "I used to see him at Boomers all the time, at the bar."_

_"So __Jake would know him?"_

_"Oh, sure. Then again, Jake knows everyone in Dorsey."_

_I ate my pizza slice thinking about that. A drive to Dorsey might be in order. Or I could just call Jake._


	127. Chapter 127

__In this chapter, a new bit of information has House thinking in a new direction.__

__Thanks for reading, and ____you know how much I love your ____comment____s____.__

_**Chapter 127.**_

_I expected Jake to answer when I called the number for Boomers, but the female voice on the other end of the line was definitely not his. "May I speak to Jake?"_

_"Who's asking?" The __belligerent__ tone was strange since I'd been quite pleasant. Or as pleasant as I get._

_"__Dr. Gregory House." Stating my name usually got results, although sometimes not what I wanted._

_"He's not here. I'll tell him you called."_

_I gave her my number, although it probably showed on their caller ID. "And whom am I speaking with?" She could have been someone off the streets, in which case he might never get the message._

_"I'm Fran. That's all you need to know."_

_It wasn't really, but I didn't want to press the point. "I'll expect to hear from him, then. Thank you."_

_She __slammed down the phone__ without another word. I didn't want to think about the odds she'd tell Jake I wanted to talk to him. But Jake wasn't the only one I knew who worked at Boomers. I glanced at the conference room. Chase and Foreman were both reading the newspaper, __so__ I __sauntered in__._

_"Do you know where your girlfriend is?"_

_Foreman shot me a questioning look, but Chase knew I was talking to him. "Ellie said she was taking the baby to the park."_

_Christopher wasn't really a baby. In fact, he was becoming more of a person every time I saw him. I nodded and left them to what passed for news in the local paper. __It wasn't far to the park. The playground was another matter. By the time I reached it, my right leg was throbbing, and then it took a couple of minutes to find Ellie and Christopher. He was on one of the toddler swings, laughing as his mother pushed him._

_"Ellie, I have some questions for you."_

_She slowed the swing, but the little one cried, "Faster, Mommy." She shrugged and resumed pushing him. "I can talk while I do this, I guess. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until he gets tired of th__e swing__."_

_"Its about your time as a waitress at Boomers. Did you ever meet Mike Morgan?"_

_Her hand stopped, __she stiffened __and ignored her son's wails of complaint. "Why are you asking about him?"_

_"So, you do know him."_

_"I did." __She grimaced.__ "It was a long time ago. He used to come into Boomers to drink." Ellie finally took Christopher out of the swing, __held him in her arms__ and told him. "We'll swing more later, okay?" She kissed his forehead before turning back to me. "He came onto me a few times, even though __Jake warned him off, saying I was too young for him."_

_"You know he was the one who killed Petey, Jess and Nina's mother."_

_She nodded. "I was glad they put him in jail."_

_"Was he that obnoxious?"_

_"Oh, yeah!" _

_I started putting two and two together. __"Were you dating Petey at the time?"_

_Her brows knit. "I guess so. __We saw each other most of the way through senior year,__ although we tried to keep it quiet because we knew his father wouldn't approve."_

_"What about his mother?"_

_"Her too, I guess." She looked at her son, shaking her head. "What are you saying? That my relationship with Petey had something to do with the accident?"_

_I looked around for a place to sit. A bench was nearby and I led Ellie to it. It was one of those wooden jobs with __curved, __wrought iron arms and very uncomfortable but it beat the grass. "I still don't know what to think, but it's a strong possibility that Morgan was after Petey when he hi__t__ the car with his truck."_

_"Oh." Little Christopher must have sensed his mother's alarm, because he pouted and squirmed on her lap._

_"At least it explains that incident and gives Morgan a motive." __I rubbed the back of my head._

_"But that means Petey's mother is dead because of me." __She looked alarmed._

_I shook my head. "You didn't flirt with Morgan or encourage him, did you?"_

_"No, but my rejection may have pushed him..."_

_I interrupted her self-recriminations. "Ellie, the man's a drunk and maybe even delusional."_

_Her son leaned over and started gnawing on the top of my cane._

_I gently removed hi__s mouth from the wood__. "That probably doesn't taste as good as whatever your mother has for you in her bag," __I told him. _

_He looked at me with big eyes._

_Ellie took the hint and rummaged in the huge tote next to her, __pulling out__ a plastic container. She removed the lid and gave it to the boy, who promptly stuffed his mouth with Cheerios. _

_"How's he doing?" I studied the child. He'd gained some weight and seemed happier than he'd been only a month before. _

_"Great." Ellie smiled and kissed his forehead. _

_The boy held up a cereal ring to her. "Mama."_

_She laughed. "No those are for you."_

_He looked at me and then held his chubby hand out. "House."_

_"He remembers you." __Ellie grinned at him and kissed his forehead again. "Yes, Chris. That's Dr. House. He's the one who made you all better."_

_"Maybe not all, but he does seem to be doing well." I continued to study the child._

_"I'm not looking forward to the terrible twos, but that's still a few months off, and we've lived through worse, haven't we sweetheart?" Ellie nuzzled Christopher's stomach and he laughed. She turned back to me. "Nina says they'll be ready to start the business next week. It'll be fun working with her and Jess."_

_"You know Petey's going to be working for them, too." __I watched her face._

_She nodded. "That's not a problem. I think we both realize we've grown up and our relationship has changed. He's still a friend, and Christopher's father, but I've moved on and I think he has, too."_

_"Oh? Is he dating someone?"_

_One shoulder went up. "I think he's kinda playing the field."_

_The little boy finished his cereal. "Down." He looked up at his mother and slid off her lap to stand, holding onto her leg. He took a couple of tentative steps, then plopped down on the cement walk.__He was still slightly behind kids his age in development, but had made tremendous progress since I saw him last._

_I stood too, slightly more steadily than Chris. "Thanks, Ellie. I'll be seeing you."_

_"Bye, Dr. House. Chris, tell House 'goodbye'."_

_He looked up at me with his big brown eyes. "Bye."_

_I nodded at him and walked away, back toward the hospital. __I had a lot to think about, but was certain one question was answered, and it would exonerate Peter Senior. Still, I didn't know what his connection to Molino was. I'd have to wait for the next day to question him about it. I did wonder if he'd ever met Morgan at Boomers._

_Just before I reached the hospital, my phone rang. It was Jake calling me back. __Fran__ had given him my message after all. "How can I help you, Doctor House?"_

_"I had some questions about Mike Morgan. Ellie already answered some of them, but what can you tell me about the guy?"_

_Jake __snorted__. "What a loser! And a drunk. I don't know what she told you, but I had to warn him off her several times. She was just a kid at the time, you understand. A pretty kid with curves, if you know what I mean. But still a kid."_

_"She said something about that. How about Mr. Giordano. Did he know Morgan?"_

_There was a short pause. "I don't think so. __The boss__ never ate here, didn't come in during mealtimes."_

_"What else do you know about Morgan?"_

_"He worked at the factory. I think he drove a truck for them. Had his own pickup, too. You know he was the one who smashed into the Giordano's car."_

_"Yeah." I couldn't think of any other questions for Jake, but he'd confirmed a lot of what I knew. Still, on the off chance, I asked one more. "Do you remember anyone coming into the restaurant with an Italian accent?"_

_"Let me see." Another pause. "I don't think so. We get some Hispanics but I don't remember anyone from Italy."_

_That shot down another theory. __"Well, thanks for calling me back."_

_"__Hope to see you back in Dorsey some time. Jess and Nina, too. How's Ellie doin'?"_

_I noticed he didn't in__c__lude Petey or his father. "She's fine and little Christopher is doing better. I'm surprised you haven't __asked about__ your boss."_

_"The longer Mr. G stays away, the better I like it." He chuckled. "I heard he's settling in Princeton, too."_

_"So it seems." I ended the call and continued on to the hospital, stopping in the __now empty __conference room to add a few things to the white board before entering my office._

_Ten minutes later Chase came in, __frowning__. "Ellie never told me about Mike Morgan harassing her."_

_"She probably didn't think it was something you needed to know. Or maybe she just forgot." I smirked at him. "Don't get your knickers in a twist over it. It was ten years ago."_

_He took a deep breath and let it out. __"So you think Morgan crashed his pickup into the car because he was jealous of Petey?"_

_"It's as good a reason as I've been able to confirm so far." __I shrugged._

_He shook his head. "__The things some people do for love."_

_"Or lust." I grinned. "Ellie's pretty and voluptuous in her own way. Why shouldn't he have the hots for her?"_

_"But she was only seventeen or eighteen at the time."_

_"And you think that would stop someone like Morgan?" I rolled my eyes. _

_"I don't know what Morgan's like and neither do you." His eyes narrowed._

_"He's a hot head. He killed two women with his truck. How much more do I need to know?"_

_Chase frowned. __"__I guess he's living in Princeton now."_

_"__You think he'd go after Ellie again? He's probably forgotten all about her. And there's no way he could know she was living here now, too."_

_"Just the same, I have to warn her." He sounded concerned._

_"You can be her knight in shining armor and protect her." I smirked._

_"It's not a joke, House." He turned and left._

_I wondered whether he had any cause for alarm. I believed what I said, but Princeton wasn't all that big. __Could Morgan still have the hots for Ellie after all that time?_


	128. Chapter 128

__Time for House and Jess to have THAT conversation.__

__Thanks for reading, and ____you know how much I love your ____comment____s____.__

_**Chapter 128.**_

_That evening, I arrived home before Jess. I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and tried to settle on the couch, but found myself sitting on the edge, tapping my cane on the floor. My mind was whirling. I had to decide what I'd say to her. If I was certain of my own feelings, it would have been easier. But seeing Christopher that afternoon added to my own confusion. _

_How long had I told myself that I wasn't dad material? There were so many reasons for it. And I've made it through over thirty years as an adult without any urge to prove myself wrong. __But now..._

_And then there was Jess. I hadn't a clue what she was feeling, but I could see the look on her face when we left Jerome's office. Maybe I should just let her make a case for having a kid. Maybe she didn't even want one. They were trouble. Took a lot of time, energy and money. Especially money._

_Do you know what it cost to raise a kid these days? There __a__re diapers and bottles, onesies and carseats. Then when they__'re__ older, there would be clothing and bicycles, music lessons and soccer uniforms, and eventually cars. Not to mention college. _

_My stomach was churning and an ache had started in my head by the time I heard Jess at the door. __I still wasn't prepared._

_"Honey, I'm home!" Her voice was so cheerful._

_I tried for a neutral look, since I couldn't muster a smile. "Home already?" I made a show of looking at my watch._

_Jess smirked. "I'm home the usual time. Wait until the business opens. I'll be out all kinds of strange hours. Then you can complain." She joined me on the couch. "So, how did you spend your afternoon?"_

_I told her about my talk with Ellie. Anything to avoid the inevitable. _

_She nodded. "You know what this means, don't you? It means my dad didn't put Morgan up to it."_

_I shrugged. "We still don't know Morgan's motivation for sure, but it__'s beginning to__ look like it."_

_Her brow furrowed. "Do you think Ellie's in any danger from Morgan?"_

_"Chase is on it." __I put a hand on her shoulder.__ "He'll guard her and Christopher with his life."_

_"I __hope so. I __haven't seen my nephew in a while. How's he doing?"_

_"Very well, actually. He's trying to walk, and he's talking a bit." I twisted my mouth into a grin. "He remembered me."_

_"You're very memorable." She rested her head against m__e__ and took my hand. _

_I buried my nose in her hair and could still smell her strawberry shampoo from that morning._

_She pulled away after a minute of silence and looked up at me. "Greg, I guess you don't want to talk about it, but I think we should."_

_"About how memorable I am?" My instinct for avoiding uncomfortable situations kicked in._

_"You know what I mean. We have to decide whether we ever want to have a kid of our own." __She stared at me._

_Now that she said it, there was no way to deflect. I nodded. My mouth and throat were dry and I could feel my heart quicken. "I guess we should." I took a deep breath and let it out. "Do you want one?" I lobbed the ball back in her court, but I knew once she answered there was no going back. _

_"__What?" Her eyes narrowed and she frowned. "No. Did you think that being in Jerome's waiting room, surrounded by couples who longed for a child and pictures of happy families would trigger my maternal instinct? Greg, my focus right now is on starting a new business. What would I do with a child? With someone who needs my attention even more than you do?" __She poked my chest._

_"And what about in the future?" I needed her reassurance that we'd have to face this decision again a few years down the road._

_She shook her head. "I'm not sure I was ever cut out to be a mother. I'll leave that to the Ellies of this world."_

_That had gone so much better than I'd expected. I'd tied myself in knots over nothing. "As long as you're sure."_

_"You haven't said how you feel about this."_

_"At the moment, relieved. I never pictured myself as a father, either. Oh, your nephew's a cute kid, and I enjoy seeing his developmental progress, but on an everyday basis, no thank you."_

_She grinned. "Right. Being able to hand him back to his mother when he gets cranky, or you tire of playing with him..."_

_"...or __he becomes annoying. Yes, that's a great advantage of not having your own."_

_"So, we're agreed?" She slipped her hands around my neck._

_"Agreed." I kissed those delicious lips __and ran a hand through her silky brown hair__. "No rugrats for us. But we still have to go through with this game with Jerome. __You'll have to have the ultrasound tomorrow.__"_

_She nodded. "All that gel on my stomach. It's a messy job, but someone has to do it."_

_"Especially if it gets us more info on Francesca."_

_Her eyes took on a faraway look, as if her mind was wandering down new paths and she had to concentrate on every step. "Do you think Morgan might have developed a thing for Francesca the way he had for Ellie so long ago? I mean, Ricky admitted he had."_

_"But then why kill her?"_

_"Because she wouldn't give him the time of day? Ricky handled it the way a sane man would, but I'm beginning to wonder whether Mike Morgan is sane." She focused again on my face. "__Yeah, it's kinda far-fetched, isn't it?"_

_My mind went over what she'd said and examined it from several angles. "Maybe not so far-fetched. But where would a man like Morgan __meet or even see__ her?"_

_Jess shrugged. "One of the car places, maybe."_

_"Just like Ricky, huh?" I tilted my head slightly. "You know, you may have something here." I looked at her with the awe I felt. "Thank you."_

_"You would have figured it out before long. And we still don't know whether I'm right."_

_"Now I wish we'd cultivated the people at those shops."_

_She pursed her lips. __"There's always the photos on the walls."_

_"What are the chances Morgan is in one, especially one with Francesca in it, too?" __I shook my head.__ "Don't answer that. I guess I'm going to have to come up with a plan to find out if he was ever a customer."_

_"Or worked there?" __She didn't sound too sure._

_"Huh?" __Another thought that never occurred to me._

_She stared at me. __"We don't know what he did when he was released from prison."_

_"True."_

_"Maybe he got a job at one of the shops."_

_"Wow, you're on a roll tonight! Maybe you'll even come up with just the right name for your company."_

_"Oh, I didn't tell you." She grinned. "We did."_

_"__So?"_

_"Gourmet Express." The self-satisfied smile lit up her face._

_I bobbed my head. "Not bad. Not bad at all."_

_"There are a few catering companies using that name, but the__y're__ local, in other states, and none of them have registered the name. The closest is in Maryland."_

_"That's one worry eliminated."_

_"Now we have to have the name and logo added to all of the linens and have cards printed."_

_"When do you expect to start operation? Ellie seemed to be ready to go."_

_"We'll start in two weeks. By then we'll have everything in place, maybe even a sign." __She snuggled against me again. "Oh, Greg. I can't wait."_

_She was in such a good mood, I hoped she wouldn't be disappointed. __B__ut she and Nina __had done__ everything needed to make their business a success._

_"__Wanna celebrate?" I whispered in her ear._

_"I'm always ready to celebrate with you." Her fingers played with the buttons of my shirt, then opened each one. _

_"Guess you are." I cupped her breast through her shirt and bra, then slipped a hand under the hem and lifted the shirt. When I leaned over to kiss the smooth skin around her naval, she giggled. But when I lifted the top over her head and tasted the swell of her breast, she purred._

_"Oh, Greg."_

_I lifted my head to look into her eyes. The deep brown color was growing darker still __and for a moment I lost myself in them__._

_"__Greg?" Jess' soft voice brought me back._

_I continued my exploration. As many times as we'd made love, it was never the same twice. This time she took the lead and I decided I didn't mind that she had so much control, especially when she stroked me. "Jess." My tone was low. I was sure she could hear the need in it. I caressed her and her response showed her need was just as great. After that it was all a blur of kisses and licks, strokes and caresses, skin against skin. __We stopped only long enough to take precautions, then__ coupled and soared together to that pinnacle like no other. Then gently we came down the other side._

_Our breathing was still jagged, pulses still quickened, as we continued to cling to each other._

_"Mmm," Jess murmured. "That was the best celebration a girl could ever have."_

_"Glad I could be of service." I kissed her ear._

_"I get the feeling you enjoyed it too."_

_"Oh, I might have." Even to me my voice wasn't as nonchalant as I planned._

_Jess laughed, placing a hand on my bare chest. "I think we'd better move to a more comfortable place. This couch is fin__e__ for sitting, but not for much else." __She started to pull away._

_"If we must." I was comfortable, but knew she was right. My leg would start to throb if I didn't move. "Guess I should shower on the way."_

_"I can scrub your back."_

_"Front too?"_

_She chuckled. "Haven't you had enough for a while?"_

_"I suppose." __I faked a pout, making her laugh outright._

_She got up nimbly and held out a hand to me. It was a bit more difficult for me, but I managed without taking the proffered hand until I was standing and we sauntered together to the bathroom. In some ways, I missed my old shower, but it was times like this that I was happy to have one that accommodated both of us with room to turn around. Running a loofah over her velvety skin was one of those sensual pleasures I'd probably never tire of._

_We'd finished our shower and were patting each other dry when the phone rang. "Let it go." I grabbed Jess' arm to prevent her from answering. But it rang again when we were tucked up in bed._

_She glanced at the caller ID and picked up immediately. "Ellie, what's wrong?"_


	129. Chapter 129

__I know I left you wondering what happened to Chase, Ellie and Christopher, so let's get right to that.__

__Thanks for reading. ____Y____ou know how much I love your ____comment____s____.__

_**Chapter 12**__**9**__**.**_

_"Someone tried to run us down on our __drive__ home from dinner." Ellie's voice on the speaker phone was just short of hysterical._

_"Was anyone hurt?" All the happiness had left Jess' face._

_"Christopher's in surgery, and Robert insisted on assisting."_

_"You're at PPTH?" I needed details._

_"Yes."_

_"We'll be right there." Jess was already out of bed and reaching for her clothes. "Chris is in good hands." She closed the connection. "You don't think it was Morgan, do you?"_

_"Seems like his MO. Assault with a deadly truck." I didn't want her to know how worried I was. "The sooner we get to the hospital, the sooner we'll know what's happening." __I couldn't help adding, "Guess Chase couldn't take such good care of them as I thought."_

_We__ drove to the hospital, and went immediately to the waiting room for the operating theaters._

_Ellie rushed to __us__, taking Jess' outstretched hands. "They're still in there." She had a bandage on her cheek, but no other apparent injuries, but tears streamed down her face and she was trembling._

_Jess put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Chris is a fighter, and Chase will make sure he's going to be OK." She led Ellie to a line of plastic chairs and pushed her into one._

_"What happened?" I sat next to Ellie while Jess took the seat on the other side._

_"We were driving down Maple." Ellie's voice was choked. She brushed away a few tears but it was hopeless as a fresh supply fell. "The lights were green all the way, but when we crossed one of the streets, Gardner, I think, a pickup truck came careening across and hit the side of the car where Christopher's car seat was, behind me. It should have been me, not my baby boy." Her voice degenerated into a long sob, and Jess pulled her into a hug. _

_Over Ellie's head, Jess' eyes pleaded with me to do something. I left the comforting to her, stood and headed to the observation room. _

_A team of doctors and nurses were working intently on the toddler. To think, he was feeding me Cheerios just that afternoon, laughing and happy. I could barely see the monitors, but I could make out a steady heartbeat. That was a good sign. __But the blood pressure was even lower than normal for such a young child._

_Chase's gestures indicated that he was arguing with the surgeon. I couldn't see their mouths, of course, but their rigid posture and body language weren't good. I frowned in response. That wouldn't help Christopher. I turned on the intercom. "What do you think you're doing?"_

_"We're not in agreement on how to proceed." Chase didn't sound surprised to hear my voice. _

_My money was on his take on what the little boy needed. "What's the problem and what do you propose?"_

_"He's not the surgeon in charge!" The other man __glanced up toward me. "House stay out of it."_

_As calmly as I could, I repeated my question to Chase._

_He looked up toward me. __"Chris had internal bleeding. We've stopped it, but his __blood pressure__ is still low, even though his heart is fine. I wanted to check further, while Doctor Moore thinks we should just close him up. __He thinks __the blood pressure __will __return to normal __on its own__."_

_"Where was the bleed?" __I knew Moore was an idiot and this proved it._

_"The one we stopped was from his spleen, but there has to be another." __Chase turned back to his small patient._

_"Check his liver," I ordered._

_"House, you're not in charge here, either." Moore looked up at me again and then at Chase. "Alright, I suppose it can't hurt to take a minute to make sure his liver is OK." __He stood back while Chase gently explored the little body on the operating table._

_"There's a slight bleed here, too. I __think it was nicked, but I __can stop it easily." Chase worked quickly. "Done. OK. Now you can close up Dr. Moore."_

_I imagined Moore grimacing behind his mask, but __the idiot__ was a good surgeon. He was finished in minutes, and they wheeled Christopher out to recovery._

_I headed back to the waiting room with the good news. Chase beat me. Mask dangling from one ear, he held Ellie in his arms._

_"You could have removed the surgical gown before you smeared blood all over the poor woman." But the usual bite wasn't in my words._

_Jess grinned at me and slid an arm around my waist. "Ain't love grand?" She watched the two of them, who, oblivious to us, smooched and hugged. Then Jess turned her attention back to me. "So, Chris will be OK?"_

_"He's a kid. They bounce back quickly, heal in a much shorter time than adults." I'd been watching Chase and Ellie too. "If Chase hadn't been there, I'm not sure the outlook would be so rosy." __I kept my voice low. Didn't want him to get any ideas._

_"He loves that little boy."_

_Chase finally let go of Ellie. "I'm gonna go clean up. You should be able to see Chris soon, but he'll still be sedated."_

_She nodded. "As long as he's going to be alright." When he was gone, she turned to me. "What happened in there?" _

_"Chase saved your son's life." I studied her face. The bandage on her cheek reminded me how Christopher was injured. __She was calmer now and more apt to answer my questions without bursting into tears. __"Ellie, do you remember anything more about what happened? Was the truck driver injured?"_

_She shook her head. "Would you believe he just drove off __without stopping to see if any of us was injured__?"_

_"Did you get his license plate number?"_

_"I...I think Robert did. __A__ policeman came while we were waiting for the ambulance, __and Rob told him__ whatever he could about the pickup." _

_So the cops were on the case. That was both good and bad. __T__hey had the resources to link a license plate to a driver. If it was Morgan, who tended to use his own vehicles, they'd find his record. Maybe they'd get him off the streets so he couldn't kill or injure anyone else. But that would also limit my investigation of the man. I'd have to focus on the car shop angle._

_Jess and Ellie __were sitting__ again, so I joined them. Ellie's eyes periodically strayed to the door, probably because she was waiting for word that she could see her son, but also possibly looking for Chase to return. I had a few questions for him myself._

_A nurse __arrived__ first. "Mrs. Giordano? You can see your son now."_

_Ellie rose and followed her out. Jess started to follow, then turned to me. "Aren't you coming?"_

_"I want to talk to Chase. I'll see you soon."_

_She nodded and rushed to catch up with Ellie and the nurse. I sauntered out to the hall and leaned against a wall waiting for Chase._

_He showed up after five or ten minutes. "Did Ellie go to see Christopher?"_

_"Yeah. Jess went with her. I was waiting for you."_

_"You want to know about the accident, whether it might have been Morgan." He frowned. "I did some job protecting Ellie and her son."_

_I wasn't going to tell him that he shouldn't blame himself. I didn't know what else he could have done. "Was it Morgan?"_

_"__I don't know. It could have been. The driver was a white male, but it happened so fast, all I could do was swerve to avoid it being worse, and get as good a look at the truck as possible." __He shook his head. "I gave the cops the license plate number. Now I hope they can identify the driver from that. But if it's Morgan, I don't know what I'll do to him."_

_"If it was Morgan, he could be put away for a long time. He has a record."_

_"I know. I just feel so – powerless."_

_I shrugged. "You saved Christopher's life on that operating table." __It just popped out._

_He studied me. A slight smile played across his mouth. "You're paying me a compliment."_

_"Don't get too used to it."_

_Chase chuckled. "I won't. I know how rare it is, and that makes it rather special."_

_"And don't get mushy on me."_

_He was chuckling and shaking his head as he headed for recovery. I trailed behind._

_Christopher was still under the influence, but that didn't stop his mother from brushing an imaginary hair off his forehead and planting kisses on his baby soft cheeks. _

_Jess stood watching her, but looked our way as Chase and I entered. "How long until he wakes up?"_

_"__Perhaps another half hour," Chase replied. "I__t__ would be better if he came out of it naturally. He'll have less pain afterward than if we tried to jolt him out of it with additional meds."_

_"Will he be in a lot of pain?" Ellie frowned at him. "I wish I__'d been the one who'd be injured."_

_Chase went to her and pulled her into his arms. "He'll be fine. A little children's Tylenol and he'll be very comfortable while he heals."_

_I motioned to Jess, and she nodded. The two of us slipped out, leaving Chase with Ellie and the little boy._

_"__Morgan has to be stopped," Jess said._

_I nodded. "There's nothing more we can do tonight. Let's go home."_

_"I've got that appointment in the morning." She sighed. "Investigating Francesca seems so trivial after this."_

_"But it's almost as important to find out why Morgan killed her as it is to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else." _

_"Are you still going to check the car places to see if they met there?" Jess looked up at me._

_We'd reached the car and got in. "It's my best option. __And __I could probably cancel my appointment with your father tomorrow, but I still want to talk to Marcello."_

_"__So, you're convinced my father didn't arrange the accident that killed my mother?" __Her eyes were hopeful._

_"Almost positive. Anything more he can tell me about Morgan is __probably __trivial."_

_She put her head in her hands. __"This is a convoluted mess."_

_"__We're still missing something. Every time part of the picture becomes clearer, it complicates something else." I spent the rest of the drive home thinking about what we knew and what we didn't, picturing what I'd put on the white board and listing in my head all the questions I still had. I could only hope we'd learn more the next day._


	130. Chapter 130

__Now that we know Christopher will be OK, let's move on...__

__Thanks for reading. ____I love your ____comment____s – ____keep 'em coming____.__

_**Chapter 130.**_

_The next morning we rushed through our shower and breakfast. Jess' appointment was at nine, and we wanted to be early enough that we could talk to the technician doing the ultrasound._

_But the technician was later. While Jess changed into an exam gown, I tackled the young woman who'd checked her in. "I never had a test like this. Have you been working here long?"_

_"Two, three years. It's a job."_

_"Aren't they all." I snickered._

_"Well, yours must allow you to take off time in he morning."_

_My experience lying allowed me to prevaricate with the best of them. "I work nights. I'm a __night worker."_

_"Oh." She went back to her paperwork._

_"I hope this won't take long." I glanced toward the dressing room._

_She looked up with ill-concealed annoyance. "Not long, but if you work nights, why are you in a hurry?" _

_I shrugged. This was going to be harder than I thought. "I suppose you worked here when my friend's cousin Francesca had her ultrasound. So sad."_

_"An ultrasound was sad?"_

_"No, what happened to her soon after." At least I had her attention. "Poor woman. Just after they proved she could have a child, she was killed in a car accident."_

_"Oh, how awful! Frances, you said?"_

_"No, Francesca. Francesca Molino." I watched her face, but there was no sign of recognition._

_Her brows drew together. "I don't recall that name. And even if I did, I couldn't tell anyone about her, now could I?"_

_"__You're not a doctor."_

_"But I still have to keep our patients and their results confidential." She looked toward the door and smiled as a young and good-looking man came through. He wore a tight T-shirt that showed off all of his muscles, and obviously the receptionist appreciated what she saw. "Morning, Todd."_

_"Oh, hi Maxine." Todd did a quick scan of me. "Can I help you?"_

_"I'm just hanging around waiting for my girlfriend."_

_"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "I guess that's my first sonogram for the day."_

_"She's waiting for you." Maxine pointed to the adjoining room._

_"Good." He left as quickly as he came, this time through the door to what had to be the exam room._

_Maxine's eyes didn't leave him until he walked through the door. I wasn't going to get any more from her, so I sat and took out my phone to call Jess' father._

_Senior answered on the first ring. "Dr. House?"_

_"Yes, I'm going to have to cancel for today. Got an emergency." Let him make whatever he wanted of that._

_"That's too bad. I was looking forward to our meeting." He sounded disappointed. "Maybe we can reschedule."_

_"I have a busy week, but I'll call when I have an opening or two."_

_"Alright. I'm working on setting up my restaurant. I found the perfect location for it, not far from your hospital in fact." His disappointment was replaced with excitement._

_"Sounds good. Well, gotta run."_

_"Of course. I know you're a busy doctor."_

_I closed the connection without saying goodbye. __And then I waited. All the magazines in the waiting room were from 2010. Two more people entered, and the receptionist sent the woman off to change into an exam gown, while the man she was with took out his phone and fixed his eyes on it. _

_I could do the same, play a game or read the news or something. When did phones become so much a part of our lives? I shook my head and tapped my cane until the guy looked up to scowl at me._

_I was about to leave and get some vending machine coffee when Jess came out. She smiled at me. I hoped that meant she'd learned more from Muscles than I did._

_We walked out to the elevator. She pushed the button and said, "That was interesting."_

_"What did Todd say, or were you referring to his physique?"_

_She grinned. "I mentioned that a friend of mine had been there a year or so ago. She'd gotten good news, but unfortunately, soon after she was killed in a car accident."_

_"I tried that with the receptionist, but she wasn't very forthcoming."_

_"Well, the sonogram technician was. How did you know his name?"_

_"Maxine used it as she drooled over him."_

_Jess laughed. "You must admit he's a hunk."_

_"Get to the point." The elevator dinged and we got on. There were three other people already in the car._

_Jess voice became a whisper. "He seemed surprised I knew Francesca."_

_"He called her by name?" The woman standing next to me moved closer, and I lowered my voice, too. "__I'm surprised."_

_Jess smirked. "Once he got started, he couldn't shut up. Guess he never heard of confidentiality about patients. Anyway, he said she was a lovely woman in every sense of the term, gorgeous to look at and pleasant toward everyone. He was devastated, his word, when he heard she was killed."_

_I nodded. "Obviously she was very attractive. The question is whether she caught the attention of our serial killer." I purposely said the last loud enough that our eavesdropper could hear. She gasped, as I hoped._

_We'd reached the ground floor and got out. As we walked toward the car, I asked, "Where should I drop you?"_

_"Are you going to meet my father?"_

_"No, I canceled that appointment, but I want to stop at one or both of the car places on my way to see Marcello."_

_"I'll come with you." She linked her arm in mine. "I'm almost as curious as you are about what you'll find, and I may be able to achieve something you can't."_

_She was right. People told her things. Even I did._

_I drove to the nearest of the car shops, the one that did the detailing. They were busy. It had to be a lucrative business for Molino. I had to part on a gravel side lot rather than in front of the place. _

_They must have a huge turnover in salesmen, because the ones who were there the last time were gone, replaced by another band of overeager, smiling men._

_"What can we do for you today?" A bouncy young fellow with slicked-back blond hair approached us._

_"__Is Mike here?" I'd been thinking of an opening line during the drive over._

_"Mike?" His brows squished together._

_"Yeah, he was our salesman last year." I tried to recall the descriptions I'd seen of Morgan. "Dark- haired guy." I looked him up and down. "Taller and heavier than you."_

_"Sorry. I've only been here a short time. I never met him. Maybe you should talk to my manager, __Tony__." He pointed to a man who looked familiar. He was the one in the picture with Francesca, so he had to have been here a while._

_I nodded. "Thanks." I made for the manager, while Jess drifted over to the wall of photos._

_Tony was with a customer, so I loitered, pretending to look at some of the brochures on what they could do to a perfectly fine car. Finally, he turned to me. "May I help you? __I'm Tony Cossimo, the manager here.__" __He held out a hand._

_I shook it but only gave my first name. "Greg." __I couldn't use the same line with him as with the new salesman, so I changed my tactics. "I don't know if you remember me, but I've been in before."_

_His eyes narrowed, then he shook his head. "Can't say as I do."_

_So, he didn't recognize me from my recent visits. "Yeah, well, it was a while ago." I made a big deal of looking around. "I don't see Mike here any more."_

_"Mike? Do you mean Mike Morgan?"_

_I snapped my fingers. "That's it!"_

_"We had to let him go." He didn't sound sorry. "He, um, there were some problems." __He rolled his eyes._

_"With his work?" __I probed._

_"__You could say that."_

_"Was he a good salesman? Because he seemed to be." I held his eyes. That usually forced some truth out of people._

_"He – I guess I can tell you, he was a pest, wouldn't leave – someone alone."_

_Was he talking about Francesca? How could I get him to tell me? "One of the other salespeople, huh? Surely not a customer."_

_"Not exactly." He let out a deep sigh. "It was the boss' wife."_

_Bingo! "That's terrible!"_

_He nodded. "And what was worse, she was killed in a car accident, and he was the other driver. Can you believe that?"_

_"I hope he paid!"_

_"Actually, he got off. I told the boss I'd testify against him, but he said it wasn't necessary. And then the scumbag got off. Had a record, too, but they didn't pay any attention to that either." He shook his head. "I should never have hired him, you know?"_

_He'd given me all I needed, but I couldn't just walk away. "Yeah. But how could you tell?" _

_"Couldn't, but I've been much more careful who I hired since then." He stood up straighter and pasted on a salesman's smile. "So, what can we do for you today?"_

_"I could use flashier wheels on my car." I turned and waved. "It's out there on your lot. Can you give me a price for 'em?"_

_"That will depend on the size of the wheels and what you have in mind. Let me show you a few of our best rims." He led me to a cubicle with half-glass walls._

_As I followed him, I signaled to Jess. A slight bob of her head showed she understood. I let Tony give me his spiel about aluminum rims vs. steel, nodding periodically, until Jess came racing in._

_"Greg, I'm not feeling so well." She clutched her stomach. "I think it's something I ate."_

_I glanced at Tony. "I guess I'm going to have to take her home. Sorry about that, but I'll be back."_

_"Sure, sure." He shoved some brocures at me. "Take a look at these and let us know which ones appeal to you. And, Miss, I hope you will feel better soon."_

_We hurried to the car and didn't speak until we were safely inside. _

_Jess couldn't wait any longer. "Morgan was in one of the pictures of Francesca with that man you were just talking to."_

_I nodded. "Tony confirmed that he worked here as a salesman, but he was fired. All the manager would disclose was that he pestered the owner's wife."_

_"He actually said that?"_

_I nodded. "And how terrible it was that she was killed, and he was the one who crashed into her."_

_"Wow! So our speculations are true. But what does this have to do with the Locarnos? And why does Molino keep sending people after them?"_

_That was the remaining question. Oh, sure, there were a few stray ends we hadn't tied up, but that was the big one. "I'm still meeting with Marcello later. Maybe he can tell __me__ something."_


	131. Chapter 131

__The International Balloon Fiesta begins a week from today. I'll try to post the next chapter on Friday, because once fiesta begins, my time is not my own for nine days.__

__Meanwhile, enjoy this chapter and if you feel inclined, leave me a few words.__

_**Chapter 131.**_

_I left Custom Cars convinced I was getting closer to filling in the pieces of this puzzle. __Jess insisted on coming with me to the meeting with Marcello. I don't __know __whether she was afraid I'd say the wrong thing, or she just wanted to be in on the action. We stopped for lunch at a diner, __typical diner food, __then continued on to his office._

_The same receptionist greeted us. This time she was much friendlier, offering us coffee before letting Marcello know we were there. We met with him in the same conference room as the first time._

_"What brings you back to Locarno and Locarno? Ricky found you a good location for your business, didn't he?"_

_Jess nodded. "This isn't about properties."_

_"Ricky told you about his run in with Giancarlo?" I got right to the point._

_Marcello stiffened and sat back in his chair. "Yes. He didn't tell me any details but he was pretty shook up by the ordeal. I suppose he was lucky __it wasn't worse__."_

_"You could say that. Giancarlo was sent by Carlo Molino. I may have mentioned before that we don't know why Molino is targeting your family. Perhaps you have some idea."_

_"No." Marcello relaxed slightly. "If anyone knows, it's my father."_

_"Ricky said the same, but we have no way of asking him." __I rubbed my palms together._

_"And you expect me to?" His brow furrowed. "He's not the easiest man to talk to, my father."_

_"Is there any way we can approach him?" Jess __leaned toward him__. "You seem reluctant to broach the subject with him."_

_"Technically, he doesn't work here, but he still pulls the strings, so it would put me in a precarious position to approach him." He stroked his cheek. "You know he's involved in many charities and civic organizations in the state. Maybe you can use that." He pursed his lips. "I'm sorry I can't help you any more."_

_"__You've __already __been a big help." Jess flashed one of her million dollar smiles at him. "Thanks for your time."_

_"__You're being careful here, aren't you?" I hadn't seen any armed guards or anything on their floor._

_"Ricky and I have taken precautions." He smiled at my narrowed eyes. "You might not have noticed, but we have. Among other things, that gorgeous young woman who greeted you has a black belt in karate. She screens everyone who goes in and out."_

_"Good to know."_

_Jess and I stood and she held out a delicate hand to him. He shook it and smiled at her. "Good luck with your business, Miss Giordano. I'm sure it'll be a success."_

_He ushered us out, past the martial arts expert who looked like she couldn't hurt a flea._

_As we rode down in the elevator, Jess turned to me. "I wonder why he's so afraid of his father."_

_I nodded. "__So you noticed. I get the feeling th__at__ he's more of a tyrant than your father ever was."_

_"But isn't he supposed to be this paragon, this civic-minded individual who's above reproach?"_

_"__That doesn't preclude being a dictatorial father. Ricky once said he micromanaged the firm."_

_We'd reached the lobby. As we left the building, I noticed a man loitering near the doors. If I wasn't seeing things, his jacket hung as if he had a shoulder holster underneath. That made me smile. Marcello was telling the truth about the precautions he was taking._

_"__Where are we headed now?" Jess asked, slipping her arm through mine._

_"I'm afraid I'll have to make an appearance at the hospital. Should I drop you home or at your sister's?"_

_"Better make it Nina's. We __still have a few details to complete before we start operations next week. Every time I think we've done everything we have to, one or the other of us realizes something else that __we have to __take __do__."_

_I chuckled. "At least you know you'll have dotted every 'i' and crossed every 't' __when you open for business__."_

_She nodded. "We even have our first job next weekend, __a sweet sixteen party__."_

_"__Do they still do those?"_

_She nodde__d. _

_"Most of your work will be on weekends, won't it?" That was something I hadn't thought about, __but I wondered how it would affect our lives__._

_"Well, not all, but yes, most."_

_I drove her to Nina's, then continued on to the hospital. The team sat at the conference room table, going through files. I joined them and shuffled through the folders, looking for a case that would challenge me, but my mind was still on the puzzles surrounding Francesca Molino._

_Still, one case stood out of the rest, a woman who'd never been sick before in her life and recently began to develop a variety of ailments, a few quite serious. I held up the file. "This one. Marisa Wells, __thirty__-two, with assorted unrelated symptoms. Go do your thing and let me know what the tests show."_

_They stood, scraping back their chairs and left the room, mumbling to each other. I hoped this case was as interesting as it looked on the surface. It was time to have another patient I could torture into revealing what was really wrong with her._

_While my minions were off gathering body fluids, I went online to see if there were other patients with the same plethora of symptoms. After an hour, I hadn't found anything remotely like this case. I grinned as I limped back to the conference room and listed everything that had been in her file._

_I'd almost finished when Chase and Hadley returned. "Her initial blood panels verify the anemia." Chase placed the printout on the table. "Taub is running an ultrasound on her kidneys and intestines right now."_

_"We put her on oxygen, because her sats were low and she was having trouble breathing," Hadley reported._

_I put a check mark next to the symptoms that were confirmed. __"__You do a lung x-ray?" _

_"Not yet, but that's next." Chase pointed to one item on the board. "We also should do a nerve conduction test to see what's causing the numbness in her feet."_

_I considered that, then nodded. "I suppose it's time for me to see the patient."_

_"That would be nice." He had a twinkle in his eyes that made me curious._

_"Chase? Is there something about her that's not in the file, and you're not telling me?"_

_He grinned. "You'll see." He walked out and I followed, __leaving Hadley contemplating the white board__._

_The patient was __back from her ultrasound and __sitting up, flipping through a fashion magazine. She looked up as Chase slid the door open and grinned. "Back again, Dr. Chase." __Her voice was deep with a slight rasp._

_I couldn't take my eyes off her face, a cross between a young Bacall and Charlize Theron. Her red-gold hair fanned out behind her on the white pillow._

_"This is Dr. House, my boss." Chase smiled back at her._

_I cleared my throat. "Good __afternoon__, Miss __Wells. Are Dr. Chase and the others treating you well?"_

_"If I have to be poked and pricked, it might as well be by a handsome, young doctor." __She flashed a bright smile in Chase's direction._

_Hi__s face reddened. _

_I almost didn't hear her. I was too __intent__ on her luscious deep pink lips. "I'm afraid there are still a few tests we'll have to do."_

_She licked her lips. "If they're necessary to learn what's wrong with me."_

_"When did your symptoms begin?" I tried to concentrate on doctor-like questions._

_"I think the numbness of the feet was first." She scrunched up her straight and perfect nose. "Then, whenever I ran, I ran out of breath quickly."_

_"There was nothing on your intake form about the kind of work you do." I left it open, although I knew I hadn't phrased it as a question._

_Marisa grinned. __"Let's just say I'm in the entertainment business."_

_Chase and I exchanged matching grins._

_"Were any of your, um, customers sick?" Chase had to swallow hard._

_"How would I know? They're usually in the dark."_

_"I'm sure." I smirked at her._

_"Hey! What are the two of you thinking? I'm not – that is, I'm a singer in a piano bar!"_

_Why was I disappointed? "Oh."_

_"Which one?" Chase asked._

_"The Black Keys, over on Maple."_

_I knew it, and I could see Chase did too. I couldn't think of anything she could have been exposed to __at a bar, but maybe Chase was onto something. "How about the piano player? Has he been sick? Maybe a cold or the flu?"_

_"Not that I know of. In fact, he's been worried about me. He kept feeding me vitamins and herbal teas every time I lost my voice."_

_"Did you lose your voice frequently?" Chase had her open her mouth to look at her throat._

_"Maybe once or twice a month."_

_"You must have worked in the same place for a while," __I said._

_"The owner __told me__ I was a big draw." She shrugged._

_"I'd like to do a test on your vocal chords." __Chase made a note on her file. "__Meanwhile, I think we'll check with the piano player to find out what he's given you. Some of your symptoms could have been a reaction to those remedies of his."_

_"What's his name?" I asked._

_"Manny Collins, or at least that's the name he uses. I think it's really something else." __She smirked. "Mine isn't really Marisa Wells, it's Marlene Windermaker."_

_We left Marisa AKA Marlene and went to see whether the others found anything serious, but my bet was on our songstress having the superficial side-effects of too many vitamins and too much herbal tea. "Who should we send to talk to the piano player?"_

_"Actually, I wouldn't mind doing that myself," Chase said. "I'd love to know what he gave her."_

_"I'll have Thirteen do an MRI of her throat."_

_Chase nodded. "I didn't see anything abnormal. It may just be vocal cord strain that singers often get." He glanced at his watch. "I don't know if the piano player is there this early in the day, but it's not far. I'll be back before long."_

_I returned to the conference room alone. _

_Hadley was still there and __Taub __had returned__ with his initial results. "__No problem with the kidneys."_

_I told him and Hadley what we'd learned from the patient and he rolled his eyes. I think he learned that from Foreman. _

_"That would explain all of these." Hadley indicated several of the symptoms. "But what about the sore throat?"_

_I grinned at her. "How would you like to find out?"_


	132. Chapter 132

__I thought I'd be able to post this yesterday. Luckily, I have a little time today between the morning activities at the ____International Balloon Fiesta ____and the twinkle glows this evening____. __

__Meanwhile, enjoy this chapter and if you feel inclined, leave me a few words.__

__I don't know how much writing time I'll have this week, or when I'll be able to post the next chapter. After Fiesta, we're off to Texas while our kitchen is being remodeled.__

_**Chapter 132.**_

_Chase was out, checking on the patient's piano player, and what he'd been giving her for her throat, and Thirteen was checking for damage to her vocal cords. I had to find something for the short one to do so I could be alone with my thoughts._

_"When does the ex-soon-to-be-non-ex get here?" __I still couldn't believe she was taking him back._

_He grinned. "Rachel and my daughter will be here on the weekend. I'm all ready for them."_

_There went that approach. I puffed out my lips while I pondered. "Hadley could probably use your help."_

_"House, are you trying to get rid of me? Why don't you just say so?"_

_"Would you go __if I did__?" __I love answering questions with one of my own._

_He chuckled. "Maybe. I think I'll go finish my clinic hours for the next millennium." _

_And I was able to go back to thinking about Francesca Molino. With my entire original theory thrown out the window, it was just as well we never went ahead with setting up a competitive car shop. I__f her husband hadn't arranged her acciden__t, __it__ was probably no longer necessary to lure Molino to New Jersey. I did wonder whatever happened to Giancarlo. Since the first aborted attempt on Ricky, he hadn't tried again. Would Molino retaliate against hi__s hit man__ the way he did against Julio?_

_Thinking of Julio reminded me that the time limit Molino gave him to return to Palermo was almost up. Would __Molino__ send Giancarlo against the kid? Because I didn't think Julio had any intention of returning home, even if he had family back there._

_While I was thinking about that, Cuddy appeared in my doorway. "I hear you have a patient."_

_"My team's on it."_

_"__I'm surprised you're not browbeating her, or panting at her bedside."_

_"I don't browbeat my patients. Well, not all of them. And as for panting after her, I'll admit she's comely."_

_"Comely, huh?"_

_"You've seen her." It wasn't a question. Cuddy wouldn't be asking if she hadn't. "I've got my own looker at home."_

_"__That n__ever stopped you before."_

_I shifted in my seat. "You didn't come in here to discuss my taste in women."_

_"No, I didn't. I wanted you to be the first to know that your girlfriend's papa isn't the only one bidding for a seat on the hospital board."_

_"First? __Since y__ou know __there's another bidder__, that makes me the second."_

_"Semantics. We have another person interested and it would be a feather in our cap, so to speak, if he got the seat."_

_"And who is this favorable bidder?"_

_"Ever hear of __Anthony Locarno?" She grinned._

_I tried to suppress my own smile. "Sure. He's well-known, and well-connected." I waited a minute before adding, "I know his son, Marcello, and his grandchildren, Ricky and Tina." __I didn't add that I put the idea in the head of the head of the Locarno family._

_Her grin was replaced by a frown and a furrowed brow. "You do?"_

_"Ricky was the one who found Jess and Nina the property for their office." I didn't add that I'd just spoken with Marcello that morning. __The less she knew, the better._

_"Then you can talk to __Ricky's__ grandfather, encourage him to push his bid over Giordano's."_

_"I never met Anthony, but I wouldn't mind __talk__ing __to __him as a representative the hospital. __But didn't you tell Giordano he could have the seat if he didn't try to micromanage the hospital? Of course, I think I'd prefer Locarno."_

_Cuddy scowled. "What's in it for you?"__ Why did she always expect the worst from me?_

_"You did come to me with this. So, I'll do it." __I put on my cheesiest smile. "You know I'd do anything for you."_

_That almost shut her up. "Just be on your best behavior. As you say, you'll be representing the hospital."_

_I knew she meant HER hospital. "So, do __you have a__ contact __number__?"_

_She handed me a sheet of paper. "Call his secretary and set up a meeting. Tell h__im__ who you are and that your with PPTH."_

_I nodded. "Will do. Anything else, boss?"_

_She hesitated, then shook her head. "Let me know when you'll be seeing him."_

_"I'll keep you informed." I watched her leave with a big smile on my face, then punched in the number on the paper. __It was different from the one I used before to talk to Anthony Locarno._

_A male voice answered. "This is Anthony Locarno's office. Whom am I speaking to?" The slight accent was unmistakable. I would bet Locarno's receptionist, or whatever he was, came from Italy._

_"This is Dr. Gregory House, at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. We understand Mr. Locarno is interested in joining our board of __governors__, and I'd be delighted to talk to him about it. When would be a good time for me to meet __with __him?"_

_"Ah, yes. Let me consult his schedule." There was silence for a brief time, then that accented voice was back. "Mr. Locarno can see you tomorrow at ten. Please be on time, as he has another appointment at eleven."_

_"Of course. Tomorrow at ten. I'll be there." I jotted down the appointment, __and sent an email message to Cuddy, 'Mission Accomplished. Tomorrow at ten.'_

_Chase returned a few minutes later, out of breath but smiling._

_"So?"_

_"The piano player gave her massive doses of ginsing, St. John's wort, and echinacea."_

_"All of them?" It was what I feared._

_He nodded. "It's no wonder her body's been going haywire. But it's easily reversed by stopping all of those__herbals__."_

_"Did you inform the idiot what he'd done?"_

_"He thought he was doing the right thing." __He shook his head.__ "I wonder how many other people out there don't realize how these things interact with each other and with prescription medications." He smiled. "Guess we can chalk this up as another case solved."_

_I shook my head. "I wouldn't do that until we see what happens once those are out of her system. He was giving them to her because of a throat problem."_

_"Have you done a throat scan yet?" he asked._

_"Thirteen's on it." But I was curious about something else. "How long has she been at the piano bar?"_

_"A year and a half. The piano player said he's been there forever, and she was the best singer they've had in all that time. __And then when she started having problems with her voice, about six months ago, he gave her the herbals.__"_

_"Do we know her current blood levels of metabolites from the herbal remedies?"_

_"No, we never looked for them, but that will give us a measure of whether the__y're__ out of her system. I'll go order them now." Chase started for the door, then turned to ask, "Unless there's something else I should do?"_

_"No. Chase, what will you do if she continues to come on to you."_

_"What?" __His eyes narrowed._

_"__You have to have noticed."_

_"House, she's our patient." _

_"Not much longer."_

_"And then I'll probably never see her again. Besides, Ellie and I are together. I'm not interested in her except as our current case."_

_"Better let her know that."_

_He nodded, a frown appearing on his face. "I will."__ He headed out to do the blood tests._

_After a few minutes, I stood and strolled over to the office next door. I even knocked before I opened it without waiting for an answer. Wilson was hunched over some papers, but looked up as I entered._

_"House."_

_"That's my name. And in case you've forgotten, yours is Wilson."_

_He sneered. "What did you want?"_

_"Do I have to want something? Can't I just come over __to__ visit __my best bud__?"_

_"It's not lunchtime, your patient doesn't have cancer, and I'm busy." He pointedly looked down at his papers._

_"What if she does? Have cancer, I mean."_

_"Does she?" He looked back at me._

_I wiggled my mouth. __"I don't know yet. Thirteen's checking her throat, and everything therein. __Something is affecting her voice, which isn't great for anyone, but especially not __for __someone who sings for a living.__"_

_"__Why do you always have to make everything so complicated? Why didn't you just come out and say she's a singer and having problems with her vocal cords?"_

_"It's more fun this way. So, whaddya say?"_

_"What do I say about what? Are you asking for a consult? Is that what this is about?"_

_"My, you're full of questions today."_

_Wilson sighed deeply and loudly. "Okay. Let's go." He stood and headed for the door._

_I grinned as I followed him to __Marisa's room. Thirteen sat at the side of her bed. I'd have to watch them together. Warning Chase off was just the start. __Any or all of my staff might be interested in this looker._

_"Good afternoon, ladies. Sorry to break in on your tete a tete. Marisa, this is Dr. Wilson." __I pointed to my friend, and Marisa sat up with a gleam in her eyes. Not only my staff, then. "H__e wants to take a look at your throat." __I emphasized the last word._

_Thirteen looked from Wilson to me with a frown and narrowed eyes. Hadn't it occurred to her we might be dealing with the big C here?_

_While Wilson __shone a light into the patient's mouth__, I talked to Thirteen in a low voice. "I assume you didn't find anything."_

_"How'd you know?"_

_She should know I have my ways. This time I decided to enlighten her. "If you had, you wouldn't be so surprised that I brought Wilson in for a consult."_

_"I don't know what he can see with the naked eye that I couldn't in a scan." Her eyes never left the oncologist and the patient._

_"__He has experience on his side. Never underestimate the advantage that gives a doctor."_

_She nodded, but looked worried. "Nothing at all looked unusual in my test. No indication of nodules or even inflammation." She bit her lip. "I hope Wilson doesn't find anything either."_

_My friend moved back from the patient. "There's nothing obvious, but I'd like to do some additional tests on her larynx and pharynx as well as her esophagus." He reached for her chart. "Does she smoke? Have acid reflux?"_

_Thirteen shook her head as he examined the earlier results and patient history. _

_"It could be nodules, polyps or benign cysts from overuse of the vocal cords." __He handed back the file. "I'd like to do more tests, possibly do a biopsy, but I think we can hold off on that." Wilson turned to me. "You're right. This is an interesting case."_

_"Doctor Wilson, do you think it's cancer?" Marisa's voice was a rasp. Her lips trembled._

_"I can't give you a definitive answer yet, but I'd say the odds are it isn't."_

_She relaxed against her pillows and swallowed. "Thank you."_

_Under my breath I mumbled, "Why did they always thank him?"_

_"We'll let you rest for a bit, but once Dr. Wilson's tests are set up, we'll be back."_

_"One more question. If it's not cancer but one of those other things you mentioned, can it be cured?" Marisa still looked worried._


	133. Chapter 133

__I thought I'd be able to post this yesterday. Luckily, I have a little time today between the morning activities at the ____International Balloon Fiesta ____and the twinkle glows this evening____. __

__I'll continue writing this over the next couple of weeks while I'm traveling to avoid the dust and workers remodeling our kitchen, but I don't know when I'll have the time or access to post the next chapter.__

__We may actually be coming to the end of this story – perhaps another eight or ten chapters. Thanks for sticking with it.__

_**Chapter 133.**_

_Wilson smiled at my patient. __"There are treatments for all of the __possible causes of your __voice __proble__m. Some might require surgery, but others would involve training your vocal cords so they don't become over-strained."_

_"__Really?" That beacon of hope had Marisa __beam__ing._

_"But we can't guarantee anything until we complete all of our tests." __Wilson probably felt he had to prepare her. I wouldn't have bothered._

_She nodded. "OK. Thanks for explaining it all to me Dr. Wilson." She flashed him one of her come hither __look__s._

_Too charming by far. Then again, she was a performer. It __had to be__ second nature to her._

_As Wilson and I left, he confirmed that she'd impressed him. "Now that's one gorgeous woman."_

_"You already have one of those." __I sneered at him.__ "I thought you gave up cheating on your partner."_

_"__Who said I was going to cheat? You must admit she's a looker."_

_I waved the thought away. __"__Chase, Thirteen, and probably Taub think so too."_

_"There's nothing wrong with looking. You've told me that yourself more than once."_

_I shook my head. "Not recently."_

_"Well, I'm sure she has someone. __A woman like that always does. __She was only grateful that I gave her some hope for the future."_

_But I knew this wasn't over. I was going to have to watch everyone around her, find out if she had a boyfriend, and if she didn't make sure she had one pronto, __someone who wouldn't be the worst possible person for her__._

_"Would you look at the time." I made a show of checking my watch. "Is it already quitting time?"_

_It was only four, but I'd put in a good two or three hours at the hospital, almost my max._

_"House, you have a patient and it's not five yet." Wilson frowned._

_"But you have my patient well in hand. There's nothing more for me to do."_

_Unfortunately,__ when I reached my office to pick up my things, my phone was ringing. It took a minute for the caller ID to register: Mark Locarno. It had to be Marcello. Now what did he want?_

_"Hi, I was just thinking of you." That should throw him._

_"You, uh, were?"_

_"How'd ya like to meet a hot chick?" __Maybe it was serendipity that he called._

_"Dr. House, this is Marcello." There was doubt in his voice, as if I couldn't possibly __be __talking about him._

_"I know __who it is__."_

_"Oh. But what's this about a hot chick?"_

_"I wanted to give you first dibs. __I__f you're not interested, I bet your nephew would be. She's really a winner."_

_"And she's not taken?"_

_"Not that I know of. No one's been to see her since she's been at the hospital." __I bit my tongue, but didn't think that would be a stopping point for him._

_"That's what I called to talk to you about. __The hospital. __My father said he wants a seat on the board. Did you know about that?"_

_"Yes, I do."_

_"__Really? H__e wants to me to sit in on a meeting he has tomorrow to discuss it."_

_"That's his meeting with me, I suspect, __and __he want__s__ you to take the seat instead of him?"_

_"That's the impression I'm getting."_

_I remembered that when I'd first talked to Tony about it, he mentioned the possibility. I wasn't sure how that would sit with Cuddy, to have Marcello on the board instead of his father, but it would be interesting __on many levels__._

_"Well, if you're not interested in my patient, the head of our hospital is also available." I had no idea what Marcello's taste in women was. "__And I think you'd find her very attractive."_

_"House we can talk about that at another time, okay? Right now I wanted to know how you think I should play this with my father. And whether you still wanted me to talk with him about Molino."_

_"Oh, and speaking of that, there was something I forgot to ask about when we talked earlier. Have you ever heard the name Mike Morgan?"_

_"Huh? __Doctor, you have me very confused."_

_Even I was getting confused trying to keep track of all the things I was bringing up with him at once. __I'd have to remember this game. It was fun. "Okay, I'll simplify. Number one, I have a patient, a singer, who's very hot, and I thought you might be interested. If not, there's always your nephew." I ticked them off on my fingers._

_He nodded. "I got that one."_

_"Next, your father is angling for a seat on the hospital board, right? Only he's not sure whether he wants it for himself or for you. I'm afraid I put that idea into his head a couple of days ago." I didn't think he accepted my __apologetic tone__. "If you take the seat, you'll get to meet my boss. Older than my patient, and maybe not as hot, but you might like her." If she doesn't eat you up alive first. "Now the catch is that Jess' father is also interested in joining the board."_

_"Peter Giordano?"_

_"That's the one. She only has one father."_

_He finally __chuckled__. _

_"You and I talked about approaching your father to find out what he might know about Molino, right?"_

_"__Yes, that's right__."_

_That encouraged me to go on. "So the discussion tomorrow will give us an opportunity to talk about that, __too__."_

_"Right. But you mentioned another name? Mike someone?"_

_"Yes, Mike Morgan. The name doesn't mean anything to you?"_

_"No." __His tone__ confirmed he was telling the truth_

_"What do you know about the accident that killed your sister-in-law?"_

_"Lucille? Tina and Ricky's mom?"_

_"__Yes__."_

_He shrugged. "They never found the guy who hit her."_

_"__Did they__ find out __anything __about it?"_

_"Only that it was a late model heavy duty pickup. The few witnesses couldn't decide whether it was a Ford or a Dodge, black or gray. There were no paint chips on the ground or on Lucy's car. No one got the license plate number."_

_"So it just sped off without stopping? __Without__ damage to the truck?"_

_"There was no way of telling." __He paused.__ "What does this have to do with anything?"_

_"Mike Morgan drove a pickup truck into Francesca Molino's car and killed her. Years earlier, he did the same to a car Jess, her sister and brother and their mother were riding in, killing Mrs. Giordano. That could be the connection between Molino and your family."_

_"__My goodness. __Whatever happened to Morgan?" _

_"He served time for killing Jess' mother, but charges were dropped against him in the Molino case." __The more I told him, the more reason he'd have to cooperate._

_"But what was his motive in any of these cases?"_

_I shrugged. "He had the hots for Petey Giordano's girlfriend, and we think for Francesca too. __How that translated into the deaths of Mrs. G. and Francesca. __I have no clue what his relationship with Ricky and Tina's mother might be."_

_"And your interest in all of this is because of Jess, right?"_

_"Mainly. But I guess if you don't know anything more about Lucille's accidental death, your father won't either."_

_"Not necessarily. He has a tendency to keep things f__rom__ us. 'For our own good'." Marcello laughed harshly. "It's part of his need to control."_

_"So, I guess I'll have to ask him a few questions tomorrow."_

_"I must warn you, Doctor. If you want answers from him, you'll have to tread carefully."_

_I smiled. "You've seen me in action."_

_He laughed. "Yeah, and you may be a match for him after all. __Tell me, Dr.. House, would you rather have me on your board or my father?"_

_"That's blunt." __I paused __before __I__ answered. "I think you'd be a more reasonable board member than your father, but that's because I don't care a fig whether the prestige associated with your father rubs off on PPTH. Let's wait and see how your father wants to play it."_

_"I'm glad I called. And I wouldn't mind meeting either of the women you mentioned."_

_I chuckled. "I'll see what I can do to arrange it."_

_His call gave me a few more things to think about, including the approach I should take with Tony. I'd done a little research on him way back when his family name came up, and I knew there had to be lots out there since he was such a prominent guy. But I decided I could wait to do more until later. I was more interested in my patient's personal status. If I was going to introduce her to Marcello or Ricky, I had to know what I was getting them into. Her health issues were well in hand, thanks to Wilson. __But who knew what her history was._

_Unlike Anthony Locarno, there was little online about Marisa under either her stage name or the one she was given at birth. A couple of reviews indicated she was a more than decent warbler, with a warm, soothing voice. She wasn't involved in any suits or litigation of any kind that I could find. There was nothing about her family, either. __She didn't own property, a three-year-old car was registered in her name, and she was a member of the Professional Women Singers Association. That was the sum and total of the information available on her. I'd have to ask some discrete questions if I wanted to learn more._

_Time to return to Anthony Locarno. As I suspected there was a wealth of information. It went back fifty years to when he first came to this country, and chronicled all that he'd done for the state and for his family. There was nothing, however, that gave me a handle on what made the man tick. Sure, he was loyal to his family, proud and domineering, and very accomplished, but I didn't have to read the reports online to know that._

_I'd be meeting him in person the next day. I thought I was ready, and that I could depend on Marcello to make the meeting __go well. I'd handled men like Locarno in the past. Why should this be any different?_


	134. Chapter 134

__Guess what? I actually have a chapter for you tonight. Hope you enjoy it. If you do, please leave me a comment.__

_**Chapter 134.**_

_The next day when I arrived at Anthony Locarno's office, Marcello was already waiting outside. He tapped his right foot and adjusted his tie twice as I approached._

_I snickered. __"He can't be that bad. We're here to talk to him about a seat on the hospital board, nothing personal, nothing about your real estate business." But I knew as I said the words they wouldn't help Marcello relax. He'd spent too many years fearing his father. That alone should have told me what kind of __tyrant__ we were dealing with._

_A young man with a slight Italian accent, probably the one I'd talked to the day before, came toward us from down a long carpeted hallway. The scent of expensive cologne or after shave preceded him. "S__ig__nor Locarno will see you now. This way." He waved a hand back the way he'd come, then followed us to a closed set of ornate wooden doors._

_As we entered, the tall, gray-haired man behind the massive desk stood. He had a more than passing resemblance to his son, but was much more imposing in his posture and demeanor. A slight smile played across his features. "Dr. House, how good of you to come to my humble office to see me and my son."_

_"The pleasure is mine." That was as much charm as I was willing to expend. He didn't offer a hand, so I didn't have to shake it._

_"Please, have a seat." He looked past my right shoulder. "Vittorio, bring us some coffee and brandy." __He waited until his minion left before spreading his hands on the polished wood table. "Now, Doctor. You and I talked a week or so ago about the seat on the board of Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. At the time, I was undecided whether it was something I would be interested in doing myself, or in having my son, Marcello, do for the family." His hand extended in Marcello's direction._

_"And now?"_

_"I find that I have __too __many demands on my time. Marcello is a busy man, __also__, but he has not as many such obligations. He sits on __no__ boards and is not as well-known in the state."_

_Marcello's mouth twitched listening to his father sp__ea__k as if he wasn't there. _

_"What you're saying is that you would prefer your son take the seat." I smiled at Marcello and shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, that would be great."_

_Anthony's eyes narrowed. "How well do you know my son?"_

_I had to be careful here. If I said I knew him well, Anthony might think this was a setup. But if I didn't know him, why would I be so willing to accept him as a substitute for his father? "I've had business dealings with the real estate firm, and met both Marcello and Richard. They seem to be accomplished businessmen."_

_"__What sort of business have you had with them?"_

_"Ricky found a perfect property for a business my girlfriend and her sister are starting."_

_"Giordano's girls?" He nodded knowingly. "Some kind of catering business I understand."_

_"That's right." I glanced at Marcello who hadn't said a word. "They'll start operations next weekend."_

_"I see."_

_"Papa." Marcello cleared his throat. "They have a sound business plan. I told you it was a good enterprise to invest in."_

_"They're taking investors?"_

_"Not yet, that I know of." I wasn't going to commit them to anything no matter what it got me._

_"Why isn't their father investing in the business? I suppose he has a hand in there somewhere."_

_"Actually, they're working without his help or influence. In fact, I think he's miffed they don't need him, that they're doing it on their own."_

_One of Tony's bushy gray eyebrows shot up. "Than I wish them all the best." He smiled. "It's about time someone showed Peter Giordano what a small fish he is." There was no mistaking his disdain for senior._

_"I understand he's trying to open his own restaurant in Princeton or Trenton. I'm afraid I mentioned that he might ask Marcello or Richard to find him a good location." My eyes shifted to Marcello._

_Tony shook his head. "We don't need his business." He was adamant._

_"Getting back to the hospital board seat - " I let it hang._

_"Yes. It would be good for Marcello to take the seat."_

_"I'm sure if you propose that to Dr. Cuddy, she'll be agreeable." I rose as if to leave, then pretended to have a new thought, but it had been festering in my mind the entire time we talked. "Do you happen to know a man named Michael Morgan?"_

_His eyes flickered and his body stiffened, but he shook his head. "I don't recall the name."_

_I glanced at Marcello to see whether he'd noticed his father's reaction. His grimace indicated he had. I turned back to Anthony. "One more question: __is there anything__ you know about your daughter-in-law's fatal accident that wasn't reported in the papers?"_

_He deflated slightly. I didn't think he could ever completely collapse, but it was a very different reaction than he'd had to anything else we discussed. "Poor Lucille. So sad. And her poor children."_

_"They never identified the man who hit her."_

_"No. The police looked into it, of course. I pushed for a complete investigation. But there were no leads and eventually they had to drop it."_

_"__So you don't think Mike Morgan was responsible."_

_He sighed. "Early on, the police chief brought up that name. He'd been involved in similar crashes. As I recall, one involved Giordano's wife, no?"_

_I nodded._

_"But there was no way to link him to Lucille or her accident. I wish there had been. Having that unsolved is disquieting."_

_"I'm sure." I didn't try to mask my sarcasm. "Well, thank you for your time today, Mr. Locarno. I know how busy you are. And I'll be happy to have Marcello on the hospital board." I stood and walked to the door, expecting Marcello to follow._

_But his father wasn't finished with him. __"__Marcello, do you have the report on the car dealerships?"_

_I left them to their business and drove to the hospital, deep in thought. Had I learned anything from Anthony? Anything important, that is? Aside from an indication that he knew Morgan's name, not even a direct admission, the rest was all negative information. _

_But it was a useful meeting anyway. It confirmed what I thought about Anthony's iron-fisted control of his family. That didn't help me with Francesca's puzzles._

_I supposed that I'd have to follow through with Marcello: the board seat, introducing him to Marisa and/or Cuddy, maybe even more. __I stopped at my boss' office on the way to my own to tell her __about my meeting __in a way that would ensure her cooperation._

_I entered her office, ignoring the closed door. "I saw Locarno. He wants his son to sit on the board. I think that will work out even better than Locarno himself. Marcello sits on no other boards, but he's the heir to his father's businesses." _

_She crossed her arms and glared at me. "You couldn't convince the father to take the seat?"_

_"__Think about it. __Do you really want to have one of dozens of boards with Anthony Locarno on it, or the first board that Marcello Locarno chose? __I think you'll like him. A younger, even better-looking version of his father. Being the first board he's on, __you__'ll have a special connection to him."_

_She pursed her lips, looking down. Her fingers tapped on her desk and she glared at me. "When can I meet him?"_

_I smiled at her. "__He might have time this afternoon or tomorrow. I'll give him a call." _

_"I have a ten o'clock meeting tomorrow morning, but any other time would be good."_

_I took that as a dismissal, and a go-ahead to arrange a meeting. I couldn't wait to tell Jess about this, so on my way back to my office I gave her a buzz._

_"How'd your meeting with Locarno go? Did he know anything?" she asked immediately._

_I told her the little I learned from him. "At least there's still a possibility that Morgan was responsible for another death."_

_"But we have no proof."_

_"You know the meeting was to __discuss__ the hospital board, so we spent most of the time talking about that," I reminded her._

_"Did Locarno bite?"_

_"He wants Marcello to take the seat. I already talked to Cuddy about it and she__'s__ willing to meet Marcello." I tried not to sound smug._

_"Greg, you're not trying to play matchmaker, are you?" She knows me too well._

_"Would I do a thing like that?" __I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't see me._

_"It's only another way you manipulate people." She chuckled. "At least it might have a good outcome."_

_"Don't all my plans?" _

_"Most of them." __She chuckled._

_I rubbed my nose. "Of course, that leaves me with my singer." _

_"Your singer?"_

_"Patient with vocal cord problems. Wilson's on the case for me. __Didn't I tell you about her? Quite a looker.__"_

_"__And you hoped to hook her up with Marcello?" __Her voice went up an octave__. "What's gotten into you lately?"_

_I shrugged. She was right. It wasn't like me to even think about other people's relationships unless I could use them to my advantage. There was only one reason I wanted Marisa involved with someone, anyone. It would discourage my team, and Wilson, too, from being distracted by her. Chase should be focused on Ellie, Wilson on Nina, and Taub on his ex-wife. _

_"Greg? Where'd you go?"_

_"I __was__ thinking about __what I should have for lunch__."_

_"Sure you were. So what is it about this woman?" Did I hear jealousy in her voice?_

_"I'm not interested in her that way." __Why did I feel I had to reassure her._

_"__Is her case a puzzle?"_

_"We've pretty much solved it." I reached my office. The only one in the conference room was Chase. He stood when he caught sight of me._

_"So?"_

_"Look, can we talk about this later? Chase is at my door and he looks annoyed about something."_

_"This isn't finished."_

_"I know. Talk to you later." I ended the call and waved Chase into my office. "What's up?"_

_"The cops finally traced the pickup that hit us the other day." He shook his head. "It was registered to someone named Will Norton, but Norton reported it stolen two weeks ago."_

_"Have they found the truck?"_

_"Yeah. It was abandoned off Condon Road."_

_I'd driven Condon several times a few months earlier. "That's the road that leads to Dorsey."_

_He nodded. "There were too many prints on the steering wheel and doors for them to pick out any, unfortunately."_

_"__So we still don't know whether it was Morgan. I hope Ellie is being careful."_

_"I'm sure she is." He sounded worried. "She's mostly staying in with Chris. He's recovering well, but she's not ready to take him out again any time soon."_

_"I think we have to find out where Mike Morgan is. It's the only way we can be sure she's safe."_


	135. Chapter 135

__I finally finished writing the next chapter. Read and enjoy. Leave a comment if you like it.__

_**Chapter 135.**_

_I called Marcello, hoping h__e__ was __finished talking __with his father. He answered right away._

_I didn't bother to ask how it went after I left. __"Dr. Cuddy would like to meet you," I told __him__._

_"When?"_

_"Tomorrow afternoon. She has a meeting in the morning. Can you make it then?"_

_There was silence for a minute. I guess he was checking his calendar. __"I'll be there at two."_

_I smiled. __"I'll tell her to expect you."_

_"House, I can't mess this up." __He sounded worried._

_"You won't."_

_"__That's good, because my father gave me an ultimatum. If I don't do well on the board, he'll take an even more direct interest in the real estate business. __I don't want that to happen.__"_

_ "I have a feeling you and my boss will hit it off quite well. __If you have her approval, i__t's the first step to making a major contribution to the board." _

_"__What's she like?"_

_"Short, curvy, some might even say she's attractive. She runs a large hospital, so you can imagine what that takes." I chuckled. "But I'll let you be the judge when you meet her. Welcome to PPTH."_

_"__I only hope I can come to you if I have questions or a problem."_

_I laughed __and ended the call__. I didn't think __he would ever need my help__, but who knew? There was probably little I could ever do __for__ Marcello. I thought he could handle himself in most situations._

_I glanced at my watch. There was just enough time to stop in on my erstwhile patient and find out how she was getting along. Wilson and a couple of nurses were in with her, talking quietly._

_"So, you cure her yet?" __I asked.__ "When can my little songbird sing again?"_

_"House, she's my patient now." Wilson glared at me. _

_"And I expected you to have provided results by now."_

_"I'm reporting them to the patient."_

_"What, no doctor courtesy, no report to the referring physician?"_

_Wilson gave me one of his long-suffering looks and sighs. "Alright. There is a small nodule on her vocal cords, noncancerous." He turned to smile at Marisa. "We were discussing her treatment. It shouldn't take long at all."_

_Marisa smiled back at him. "You were right, Dr. House. Dr. Wilson is a wonderful doctor."_

_"He's taken." I turned on my heels and stalked off, __feeling eyes on my back__. Yes, I had to do something about that woman and fast._

_#_

_That evening Jess arrived home full of news. "We've booked two more functions, and Uncle Johnny has agreed to provide some of the serving containers we hadn't been able to find at the restaurant supply store."_

_"Sounds good." I smiled, seeing how happy she was with the way the business was going._

_"So what have you been up to since I talked to you?"_

_I told her __what we now knew __about the truck that had hit Chase, Ellie and the kid because I knew she was even more concerned about them all than some others._

_"But they haven't proven that Morgan was driving it?"_

_I shook my head. "Not yet. I think it's just a matter of time."_

_She nodded solemnly._

_"I also talked to Marcello again," __I continued._

_"And?"  
><em>

_"And I think we have a new hospital board member."_

_"Good." She smiled. "Still trying to hook him up with Cuddy?"_

_I tilted my head back and forth, not ready to commit. __We sat down side-by-side on the couch._

_"What about your patient?" __Jess asked._

_"You mean Wilson's." I explained what my friend found, and the way Marisa was flirting with him. _

_Jess frowned._

_"I told her in no uncertain terms that he's taken."_

_"Good. I think my sister would be devastated if they broke up."_

_"So that leaves Ricky." __I took one of her hands in mine._

_"You mean for Marisa?" She rubbed her cheek. "I'd like to meet her before you try to set them up."_

_"__Why, you think I'm wrong about her suitability for him?"_

_"From what you've said, she sounds like a maneater."_

_"She's a performer. They always come on strong. She's actually pretty nice."_

_Jess smirked. "Okay. Why don't you ask Ricky to come to the hospital tomorrow, and then take him to see her."_

_I shook my head. "I have a better idea. When Marcello comes in to meet Cuddy, I'll ask him to bring his nephew along, then to let Marcello have some one-on-one with my boss, I'll take the kid to meet some patients."_

_"Can't do anything in a straightforward manner, can you?"_

_"Not if I can help it. What would be the fun of that?"_

_She laughed, as I knew she would. __Then she put her hands on both sides of my face and kissed my lips soundly. "You're one of a kind, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."_

_She was, too, of course. But I was reluctant to say so. Instead, I changed the subject. "It sounds like your business is taking off. Will you and Nina be able to handle it all?"_

_She shrugged. "That remains to be seen. So far the number of parties is at a level, and spaced out enough, that we can handle them. I guess we'll feel we made it when __we__ start turning away business." __She snuggled against me. "I wish you could be there for our first jobs, check out the food, and see how people react to everything. We need some feedback so we can start to impro__v__e immediately."_

_"Who says I can't?"_

_"You want to go to a Sweet Sixteen party?" There was laughter in her voice._

_"Maybe. I've never been to one."_

_Jess laugh. "Our third is an engagement party. I might be able to get you into that without much trouble."_

_I nodded. A__t__ those things, and even weddings, where each side doesn't know the other, it's easy for crashers to get in and enjoy the eats. "What do I get for __getting you intel?"_

_"Oh, I don't know. I'll think of something." There was a calculating look in her eyes. I hoped it meant something good. It usually did with her._

_"That leaves us with the decision about where we're having dinner tonight."_

_"We're going to my uncle's place. Nina and Wilson will meet us there."_

_"When did this happen?" I didn't remember her mentioning it._

_"When he offered us the serving pieces. We haven't eaten there in a while."_

_"Yeah, at least a week." I rolled my eyes, although I had no objection. The food was great, and anything that reminded Wilson where his heart belonged was __o__kay in my book._

_"__I like going there." She sat up and looked at me. "For some reason it feels like going home to a home I never had. I'm not sure you can understand what I mean."_

_"Even when your mother was alive?"_

_"Maybe. I never knew my grandparents on either side, never had any of those big family meals I read about in books and always longed to attend."_

_"But since Johnny is family, and the place is always full, it gives that impression."_

_"I think, in part, it's the atmosphere he's created at the place, the kind of food he serves."_

_"And the portions. Don't forget the portions."_

_"I'm sure you don't." She smiled at me, then stood. "I'm going to get ready to go. I told Nina we'd meet them there at seven for drinks before dinner."_

_"Do I have to change?" I looked down at the t-shirt I had on. It was still clean._

_"Why don't you put on that new turtleneck. It's supposed to get chilly tonight." She walked off._

_I found the shirt in question in the closet. It was a light blue cashmere sweater Jess insisted I buy. I pulled of my shirt and put it on. It felt soft, almost as comfortable as my oldest worn T's. __I had to admit I looked damn good in it._

_Jess had changed into a red sweater I didn't remember seeing before. The V-neck showed the curve of her breasts and was outlined with glittery decoration. She brushed her long brown hair and wore it loose. She smiled at me. "Ready?"_

_In answer, I handed her the coat that was thrown over the chair nearest the front door. She slipped it on and then put her arm through mine._

_On the way to the restaurant, I followed up our earlier conversation by asking her, "__Where is the engagement party taking place?"_

_"At that party place over on Route one where it meets the Interstate. __The engagement of Jason Schwartz to Marie Mancini."_

_"Nev__er heard of them."_

_"They're a couple of recent college grads. Nice kids. The parents on the other hand, especially the mothers, are pretty intense. It's a wonder they finally agreed on a menu."_

_"How big a party will i__t be?"_

_Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her smirk. "It__'__s the largest we've booked so far, over a hundred guest__s."_

_I hadn't realized they'd be catering parties that large. "That's a lot of food to prepare and serve."_

_"We have the staff for it. We even hired two extra waiter__s."_

_"Well, I'll be there to check out the food and the crowds reactio__n."_

_"Thank__s."_

_I pulled into the parking lot of the restauran__t.__My mouth was salivating even before I stepped through the door, but then the smells hit and I didn't care whether Wilson and Nina were there yet or not. I was ready to eat._

_Johnny greeted us as if he hadn't seen me in months, when it had been a little over a week. "Doctor House, I wish you would eat here every night."_

_"I'd love to." It would take a month or more to go through his menu, and then I could start all over._

_"Especially if he didn't have to pay," Jess teased._

_Before I could retaliate, Wilson and Nina arrived, and Johnny led us to a table himself, chuckling. "Enjoy. I'll stop by later." He nodded at one of the waiters. "Please take good care of my nieces and the two doctors."_

_I was in the mood for something rich, but first I wanted some of Johnny's excellent minestrone. The two sisters were discussing whether to get a salad or soup, but Wilson knew what he wanted. I knew, too. He always got the Italian wedding soup._

_Jess and Nina finally decided on house salads, and when the waiter appeared with ice water and a bottle of wine, compliments of Johnny, we were ready to order our first course._


	136. Chapter 136

__I ____apologize for again taking a long time to update this story. Now that I'm home and NaNo is over, I think I'll be able to get back on schedule.__

__Thanks in advance for reading and for leaving a comment.__

_**Chapter 136.**_

_The next morning I woke with my arm draped across Jess' curvy body. She was staring at me, her __soft __lips and __dark __eyes smiling. "I love to watch you sleep. You look like you don't have a care in the world and your mind is finally at rest."_

_"How little you know." I tapped her nose with a finger. "Awake or asleep, it's always churning away."_

_"Oh? And what brilliant ideas has it come up with now?"_

_"I know how to get to the bottom of what happened to Francesca Molino, and why her husband has been so insistent that the Locarnos __had __something __to do with__ it."_

_"Okay. I'm intrigued. Go on."_

_I shook my head. "Not so fast. I have to do a bit more digging first. But I'll tell you when it's time to enlist your help in my scheme."_

_"So now you have a scheme."_

_"At least one." I held a finger to my lips. "Still hush-hush, though."_

_"Well, I have a scheme of my own." She pulled away from me and out of bed, then headed for the bathroom. "Breakfast. Pancakes and sausage. Lots of coffee. Okay so far?"_

_"That's __a__ scheme I can get into." I slipped out from under the covers and followed Jess. __After we showered together with a bit of extracurricular stroking, we dressed and invaded the kitchen. I took up my position at the table and Jess assumed hers at the stove. Before long there was a stack of pancakes in front of me with thick and juicy sausages on the side. __I was almost finished with my food when Jess joined me at the table with her own plate. I stabbed one of her sausages with my fork and shifted it to my plate._

_She glared at m__e._

_"What? My last pancake needed another sausage to accompany it."_

_"Sure it did." She giggle__d. _

_"Did you do that on __purpose?" I saw her face. Of course she had. I should have known she only ate one of those when she had pancakes._

_After breakfast, I drove her to her sister's before heading for the hospital. "It was good to see Nina and Wilson together last night," she said._

_She was right. I saw the way he looked at Jess' sister. __"I guess there's no way he'll cheat on her." _

_"Were you really afraid he might?"_

_"__I don't know. __The way he and Marisa __flirted wi__t__h__ each other, it seemed possible."_

_"Well, I guess you'll still have to work on your plan with Ricky." __She leaned over and kissed me good-bye, then __got out of the car__. _

_Part of m__y mind was still focused on my former patient, but thoughts of the Molino's intruded. What kind of connection __was my mind__ making? I'd have to work it out before Marcello and Ricky showed up __to work out my scheme__. That gave me three hours or so._

_I took the elevator up to my floor. As I got off, my boss was getting on._

_"There you are."_

_"Here I am," I agreed with her._

_"Is Locarno coming in today?"_

_"He has an appointment with you at one, so I guess so." I smirked. "I haven't checked with him this morning to see whether he canceled, but he's under orders from his father to be here or be square."_

_Cuddy narrowed her narrow eyes at me. "I hope you're right about him. We need new blood on the board, but not someone who'll try and rock the boat so much we all fall out."_

_I had to laugh at her attempt to use a metaphor. "Don't worry. Marcello's not a boat rocker, more of a gentle wave."_

_She harrumphed, got into the car, and let the doors close between us. _

_It was good she was still wary about Marcello. That way, when he impressed her with his good looks and refined manners, she'd be smiling for weeks. _

_I continued on to my office, noting the conference room was empty. If we had a new case, Cuddy would have said something or one of my minions would have called me. I shrugged and entered my office. There was a note on the desk. Wilson had called them in to consult on Marisa's case._

_What now? __I storm into her room and ask just that. "What now?"_

_"There's something else wrong. Besides the nodule on her vocal cords." Chase looked up from the vial of blood he was drawing. "She started to respond to the medication we were giving her, and then she relapsed. Heart rate, blood pressure, everything went haywire."_

_"Could it have been due to the treatment Wilson began?"_

_He shook his head. "It started before he began anything."_

_I hoped this didn't throw a monkey wrench into my plans __for her__, but also that we could find out what was wrong with her. "Well, do everything you can."_

_"Don't we always?" Taub asked. _

_I left them to it and returned to my office to wait for the Locarno's arrival. I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes, and snoozed until the ring of my phone woke me. I grimaced until I looked at the caller ID. It was Marcello._

_"__Are we still on __for __today?" The anxiety in his voice came through loud and clear._

_"Of course. My boss is looking forward to meeting you __at one__. You're bringing your nephew, right?"_

_"Yeah, yeah. Although I'm not sure why."_

_I wasn't about to share my plan, __any of my plans__ with him._

_It had been a week or more since Giancarlo's attempted attack on Ricky. Why hadn't we heard from him since? One of my schemes depended on finding out. My phone was still in my hand. I studied it a moment, thinking of possibilities, then called young __Julio._

_"Dr. House? How are you? And the lovely Jess?"_

_"We're both fine. How about you? Have you been able to stall your cousin? You're obviously still in New Jersey."_

_"Yeah, well, my mom came for a visit and I've been showing her the sights, so Carlo hasn't insisted that I come back to Sicily. Mama's hinted that I go back with her, but she isn't adamant about it. I've tried to convince her I'm happier here." He paused. "I introduced her to Tina and she was thrilled that I found a nice Italian girl."_

_"Even though she's a Locarno?"_

_"I guess no one told her to be wary of them."_

_Interesting. "What about Giancarlo?"_

_"What about him?" Julio sounded puzzled._

_"Has he tried to contact you?"_

_"No. I'm not sure he's still here."_

_"Well, he didn't accomplish what he was sent here to do. He hasn't even come near the Locarnos since the first time he came after Ricky."_

_"Yeah, that's what Tina said."_

_"What else did she say?"_

_"That she was glad __they've been safe__, but her brother and her uncle weren't letting up their guard."_

_"__I don't doubt it." I wondered if they were bringing their bodyguards to the hospital today. That hadn't entered into my plans, but I could work around it._

_"So, what did you want?"_

_"You already answered all the questions I had." If I could think of more, I would have asked them._

_"You wanted to know about Giancarlo? Or Tina?"_

_"You were the one who brought up your girlfriend."_

_He chuckled. "If I hear anything about Carlo's thug I'll let you know. Meanwhile, Ciao."_

_"Ciao to you too." I stared at the phone as I ended the call, wondering why Giancarlo was laying low. It didn't make sense for him to take a stab at Ricky and then give up. Molino had been determined enough to go after the family that he'd sent first Julio and then the more violent man. I didn't think his aim was only to frighten the Locarnos. Of course, it's possible Giancarlo had taken another crack at it and been thwarted by Marcello and Ricky's guards. I'd have to ask them. _

_Meanwhile, I had an appointment with a burger and fries and the largest soft drink they served in the cafeteria, so I went in search of Wilson. Maybe he'd explain to me why he missed the fact that Marisa had more wrong with her than nodules on her vocal cords._

_He was alone in his office, dictating notes to his computer. Since they installed the voice-input system, he couldn't use it enough. _

_"Give it a rest and come buy me lunch."_

_Wilson looked up but ignored me. It seemed it was more important to spout off some more medical jargon that the system wouldn't recognize so he'd have to go back and correct it anyway later on. _

_"__Okay, fine. I'll eat alone. But don't think I'll forget this quick." I started to walk away, giving him time to think he was getting away with it. Then I turned back. "Of course, since you didn't cure my patient, or even correctly or completely diagnose her, you owe me." Nothing Wilson hated more than to be wrong about a patient. Well, maybe there were a few things, but that was a biggie in his book._

_"House. Wait. Give me one more minute." He scanned notes in front of him, looked at his screen, then turned the computer off in disgust. "I thought these things were supposed to learn from the corrections you made." He followed me out the door and down the hall to the elevator._

_"About Marisa..." I prompted._

_"She does have a nodule but it seems that wasn't all. When you turned her over to me, you thought the problem was with her voice, so that's what I focused on. I should have known..."_

_"Yeah, well, my team's on it now. We'll continue your treatment and at the same time find out what else is wrong with her." The elevator doors opened and we got on._

_Wilson checked his watch. "When is Locarno arriving? Isn't his appointment with Cuddy this afternoon?"_

_"Marcello and Ricky will be here at one."_

_"What were you saying last night about introducing Ricky to our patient?"_

_"I still plan to, although her medical problems might complicate things." I studied his thoughtful face. "What? You don't think I should introduce them?"_

_He shook his head. "Didn't say that. We really don't know anything about her except her medical problems."_

_"So you're worried about Ricky? You don't even know him that well."_

_"House, you aren't the matchmaker type. What are you up to? Or should I ask, why is this so important to you?"_


	137. Chapter 137

__I'm back on schedule now and should be able to post a chapter every Saturday until this story is over. It's approaching 200,000 words, so I probably should end it soon, but not before House solves all of his puzzles.__

__I enjoyed writing this chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it. Leave a comment if you wi____sh.__

_**Chapter 137.**_

_I didn't reply to Wilson's question. Instead, I steered the conversation to a new topic, Jess and Nina's first event._

_"Jess asked you to attend?" he sounded both surprised and jealous._

_"No. Said I'd be bored, although I could console myself with the food they served. No, but she did invite me to a later party, one where I'd blend in better, and could listen to the comments from the attendees."_

_"A kind of shill." He smiled._

_"You could say that. More of an observer." I bit into my burger and chomped on it._

_He took a bite of his own roast beef sandwich and chewed his usual hundred times. "As long as you support them," he said once he swallowed._

_"Of course I support them. Nothing makes me happier than to see Jess happy and excited about something." I leered. "Especially excited."_

_His eyes rolled toward the ceiling._

_"You should come along." I took another bite._

_"What kind of party is it?"_

_"An engagement party."_

_He blanched._

_"What? You don't like those?"_

_His narrowed eyes bored into me. "House, don't you think she's hinting at something, inviting you to someone else's engagement party?"_

_It was my eyes turn to roll. "Jess and I have talked about all of that sort of thing. We're happy with the way things are. I think you're projecting your fears on me. Are you worried that Nina wants you to propose?"_

_His expression gave him away. That was exactly what he feared._

_"Afraid to commit?" I smirked. "Just because your first three marriages failed doesn't mean a fourth will." __I wondered if that had something to do with his flirting with Marisa. "You love Nina too much to cheat on her, and the same goes for Nina."_

_"I know, intellectually, but every time I think about asking her, I also think about each of my former wives along with how those relationships ended." He looked at his sandwich with distaste and put it down. "House, you can give me all the advice you want, but you've never been in this situation."_

_"Me? I've never had a relationship that lasted long enough to even get to the asking phase."_

_"Except you were with Stacy for longer than any of my marriages lasted."_

_"And you were there to see how that ended." We probably looked like the two saddest men in the room. Not a state I wanted to continue, so I changed the subject slightly. "On the other hand, care to wager how long it'll take Marcello and Cuddy to get together."_

_He forced a chuckle. "Since I don't know the man, I haven't a clue."_

_I shrugged. "He's Italian. What more do you need to know?"_

_That got a laugh out of him. "Okay, I'd say a month. Twenty bucks."_

_"Last of the big betters." I smirked. "Two weeks, and let's make it fifty."_

_He actually thought about it before agreeing. Guess he was learning that I usually put my money on sure things, but he also knew Cuddy and what a hard sell she could be._

_We went back to eating our lunches, but the subject of Wilson and Nina's relationship wasn't closed and we both knew it._

_After lunch, I hung around the lobby waiting for the Locarnos. I wanted to be the one who took Marcello into Cuddy's office, and I was also curious about whether I could spot the men guarding them._

_At one on the dot, uncle and nephew came through the doors, two well-dressed and -groomed men. Ricky smiled as he came toward me._

_"Dr. House, it's good to see you again." I usually avoid shaking other people's hands, but when he held his out, I took it._

_Marcello wasn't so informal. "Good afternoon, Dr. House. Can you show me the way to Dr. Cuddy's office?" He was doing a fair job of hiding his anxiety._

_"That's why I was waiting for you. This way." I pointed with my cane, then started in that direction._

_"I've never been here." Ricky looked around as we walked._

_I wondered where they took him after his car accident. "Hopefully, you'll never have to be. I'll give you a tour while your uncle is talking to my boss."_

_We reached Cuddy's office. Her receptionist du jour looked up as we approached. "This is Marcello Locarno. He has an appointment to see Dr. Cuddy." _

_"Of course." She knocked on Cuddy's door although the she-witch could see us through the glass, and opened it for Marcello._

_I waited to watch their first encounter. Their wary but admiring glances boded well, so I turned to Ricky. "C'mon. You might be interested in the way we've used all the space in the building." I'd decided on an approach that would appeal to him as a real estate salesman. __We walked through the first floor and I showed him the cafeteria, the classrooms, and office space down there. When we returned to the lobby, I pointed out how you could stand on the balcony above and watch the goings on below._

_"Wanna see my office and some patient rooms?" I asked casually._

_"Sure, why not."_

_We took the elevator to my floor. The conference room was empty, probably a good thing._

_"I like the glass walls, but don't the patients feel more vulnerable with strangers being able to see into their rooms?"_

_I smiled. "C'mon. Let's go ask a few."_

_Of course, the first room I took him to was Marisa's. I smiled before I slid the door open. She was awake, sitting up and reading a magazine. "Hi, Marisa. This is a friend of mine, Ricky Locarno."_

_I could practically see each of them take on a glow. Did I know who would be attracted to whom or not?_

_When he finally regained the ability to speak, Ricky said, "Hello." Brilliant conversationalist he wasn't, but usually he could manage more than that._

_"Hi." She beamed at him. _

_"You were going to ask her whether she minded the glass walls," I prompted._

_"Uh, oh, yeah. Marisa, do you?"_

_She pulled her eyes off him and looked at the walls and door, then shook her head. "It's not a problem."_

_He smiled. "Right."_

_I could have left and neither of them would have noticed, but Taub picked that moment to come in. "House, glad you're here. We've got some more results for Marisa."_

_I looked at the short one. "Let's go over them in my office. Ricky, can I leave you here? I'll be back soon."_

_But Ricky's attention was on the pretty songstress. I left with Taub, retracing my steps to my office._

_"So, whadda you got?" I took the file from Taub and flipped it open to the latest results. And frowned. "Her electrolytes and white blood counts were stable before. What happened?"_

_Taub shook his head. "Something triggered this change but, considering she was in a fairly controlled environment here at the hospital, she was off those supplements her boss was feeding her, and Wilson hadn't really started his treatment, that 'something' is a mystery."_

_"Tell me a fact I don't know." __I turned back a page or two, carefully studying the list of meds we'd given Marisa. Nothing there could have caused the decrease in potassium and the increase in erythrocytes. "Besides the team and Wilson, who's been in to see her?"_

_"Her boss visited yesterday, just before dinnertime. He didn't stay long and he didn't give her anything. We checked."_

_I pursed my lips. It didn't have to be something he gave her, like pills. "Did he seem alright?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean was he coughing? Sneezing?"_

_"I didn't notice. Why? House, even if he gave her a cold it wouldn't explain the drastic change."_

_"Not a cold, or even the flu." I closed the file and returned to Marisa's room. She and Ricky were talking quietly and smiling at each other. I __almost __hated to __drag him away__. "We should head down and see whether Marcello is finished with Cuddy."_

_Ricky took some time to refocus on me. "Sure. Marisa, I hope they find out what's wrong with you. I'll be back to visit, alright?"_

_She __looked a whole lot better than before his visit.__ "I'll look forward to it." __Her grin made her prettier than ever. _

_I left Taub to question her about her boss' visit and took Ricky back to the lobby. Marcello stood in Cuddy's doorway, shaking her hand. They were both smiling, a good sign, but I'd have to speak to each of them and get their takes on how their meeting went._

_I approached them with Ricky trailing behind. "Guess you're done."_

_Marcello turned to us. "For today. But I'll be back for the next board meeting on Wednesday."_

_"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Locarno. I'll see you then." Cuddy turned and reentered her office._

_"__Would you both like to check out our cafeteria before you go?" I asked. _

_Marcello shook his head. "Not today, House, but thanks. We do have a business to run. Thanks, Dr. House."_

_"What are you thanking me for?"_

_"You were right about Dr. Cuddy. That's one sharp lady. It'll be good working with her."_

_Ricky hadn't said a word as his uncle and I talked, but he had to add, "I'll be back, too. That patient of yours is a lovely lady."_

_They left the hospital two happy men. Now that I'd introduced Ricky to Marisa, I hoped we'd be able to cure her. Would anyone think I was getting too soft, worrying about other people's happiness? Or would they realize I had other motives for what I was doing? Certainly, Jess would understand. Wilson had been questioning my actions, __but he and__ my team knew I always had complicated reasons for everything I did. Th__ey were__ all that mattered._

_Before I could escape to my office, Cuddy cornered me at the elevator. "You didn't tell me Marcello Locarno was so good-looking."_

_"Is he?"_

_"House, don't act surprised." She swatted at me with a file, but she was smiling. "I rarely say this, but thank you."_

_"What did I do now?" The accomplishment would be so much sweeter if she told me._

_"Locarno is perfect for the board, so much better than Peter Giordano. Thank you for arranging that, for encouraging his father to send him."_

_I tried to turn her good mood to my advantage."Guess that means all those clinic hours I owe you can be wiped out."_

_"What does one thing have to do with the other?" She pursed her lips. "Okay, don't say I never compromised with you. I'll cut them in half."_

_That meant I owed her thirty hours instead of sixty, hours I had no intention of working. "Wow! I can't believe your generosity."_

_"House, quit while you're ahead." She started to walk away._

_"Was that file for me?"_

_She looked at the papers in her hands and then at me. "I don't think so. I understand you still haven't diagnosed your patient."_

_"That's Wilson's fault. He appropriated her for a while. We'll have her case solved before the day is out."_

_But as I got into the elevator and hit the button for my floor, I wondered if I __would._


	138. Chapter 138

__House continues to pursue all of the mysteries, medical and otherwise. This chapter took the total number of words over 201,000, but it won't end until he does.__

__Hope you enjoy ____this chapter.____ Leave a comment if you wi____sh.__

_**Chapter 138.**_

_Taub was waiting for me when I reached my office. _

_"So? What did she say?" I prodded._

_His head went back and forth a few times. "She was too busy talking about the guy who __you introduced her to__. Ricky, right?"_

_"Yes. He's a real estate guy, found Jess and Nina the place for their busines__s__."_

_"Oh, yeah? I might have to talk to him at some point."_

_"Thinking of buying some property?" __I didn't really care, and__ we were getting off the subject. "What else did she say? What happened when her boss visited?"_

_"He wanted to know when she'd be able to come back to work. She had to tell him she didn't know and he wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't fire her, just told her he expected she'd be back soon."_

_"Guess I'm going to have to pay him another visit." I was already wondering if I should take Jess to the __piano bar__ after dinner that night. It was a classy enough place. She might like it. "Did she mention whether he was coughing or sneezing or anything?"_

_"No. But he brought her some flowers and a box of candy."_

_I smiled. Two possible sources of whatever infection __or reaction __she might have. "What else d__id__ you __learn__?"_

_"Nothing." There he went with the head shaking thing again. "So, can you give me a contact number for Ricky?"_

_"You really are interested in buying a house." __I shouldn't be that surprised.__ "__F__or your wife and the kid, huh?"_

_"I'll have to see how it goes the first few days __with them __in my apartment, but it would go a long way to make sure they stay __if we could move__in__to a bigger place."_

_I fished around in my drawer and came up with one of Ricky's cards. "Here you go. He mostly deals with commercial property, but I bet he'd help you out."_

_He seemed s__hock__ed that I'd do that much for him. "Thanks, House." He turned and walked away._

_But I wasn't doing it for him, of course. Not really. _

_Less than f__ive minutes after he left, my phone rang. I smile. "Hi, Jess."_

_"Hi yourself. So, how did it go with Marcello and Ricky?"_

_"Exactly the way I predicted," __I bragged._

_"Well, don't go getting a swelled head over that." There was laughter in her voice._

_"But there's been a new development."_

_"What?" The laughter was gone. _

_"__We're back to being Marisa's doctors. There's something more than the nodules that Wilson found."_

_"But how does that affect any relationship between her and Ricky?"_

_"Well, we'll just have to find out what's wrong with her so she can get better. And you can help."_

_"Me?" __She sounded puzzled._

_"Well, the two of us together. We're going to the club where she sings, or used to sing, or maybe will sing in the future."_

_"Tonight, I presume."_

_"The sooner the better."_

_"And how will that help? Or do I need to know?"_

_"Well, you don't need to, but I'll tell you anyway, __just cause you're so cute__. Her boss visited her yesterday in the late afternoon. Afterward her vitals changed. We have to find out why. It could be the flowers he brought her or the box of candy, but I'd like to ask him about it. She was too busy extolling Ricky's virtues to tell Taub much."_

_"Okay. So we're going to the club tonight. We'll have dinner first, right?"_

_I knew she wouldn't object. "Sure."_

_"I'll probably have to change clothes. Meet you at home?"_

_"I'll be there by five thirty, __maybe earlier if I can sneak out__."_

_Jess laughed. "Nina and I are heading to the restaurant supply store again. She'll drop me off."_

_I hoped the trip to the __piano __bar wouldn't be a waste, but I had a few questions for Marisa's boss._

_Taub returned to confirm, "It's not the flowers or the candy."_

_"Let's go on the assumption it's an infection of some kind. Try a broad spectrum antibiotic and see whether she responds." __Once he left, there wasn't much I could do, but on a hunch, I did a little research. Why would Marisa be so susceptible to any kind of infection? Had the start of Wilson's treatment affected her immune system? Before I let my fingers do the walking on my keyboard, I went to talk to my friend._

_For once, Wilson wasn't busy. No one was with him in his office. Yes, he was going through a stack of files, but I had no compunction about interrupting that. "What did you give Marisa?"_

_His eyes narrowed. Using a trick he learned from me he countered, "Why are you asking?"_

_"Oh, I'm just wondering if your treatment lowered her ability to fight infections."_

_He sat back in his chair and shook his head. "Perhaps if we'd started some kind of radiation or chemotherapy it might have. But she probably won't need either of those things."_

_"So, what did you do?"_

_"__As you know, most vocal cord nodules require only rest of the voice and retraining by a vocal therapist. In Marisa's case, I thought surgery might be required. __But s__ince that could affect her singing ability, before I went ahead, I was trying an inhaled steroid spray. That's all I did."_

_I grimaced. No help there with finding out what might have affected her white cell count. It still seemed that an infection was the probable cause.__It was unlikely that she had leukemia or some other disease, since the symptom hadn't shown up before. Symptoms. We couldn't dismiss the decrease in potassium. __We weren't giving her diuretics, her diet here was controlled and balanced, and she hadn't had any recent bouts of diarrhea or vomiting. I made a note to myself to check her sodium and magnesium levels._

_Back to the high WBC. Depending on her response to the antibiotic, we would decide what other tests she'd need._

_At four forty-five, I hadn't heard any more from my team. I left a note for them to call. For once, I'd keep my phone turned on. I packed up my bag and quit my office for the day._

_Jess was waiting for me at the condo, full of her own news. "We booked three more parties, and the restaurant supply store had the platters we'd been looking for."_

_'That's nice' wouldn't have been the best response, so I forced a bit more enthusiasm. "Sounds like things are going well."_

_"Yes." She beamed at me. "Oh, Greg, sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it. But you've got other things on your mind, don't you?"_

_"Marisa. She seems to have picked up some kind of infection, but we don't know how."_

_"Yes, you said that was why we're going to this __club__ tonight. I hope that will get you some answers or at least clues." She took my bag from me and put it on __the floor__ near the door, then slid her arms around my neck. "You'll figure this out."_

_"I'm glad you're so certain."_

_"You've never failed since I've known you."_

_"__Oh, but I have failed in the past." I hated to be reminded of the patients I couldn't save, hadn't diagnosed until after it was too late._

_She put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."_

_"No, it's okay. You're right, though. I've solved every case I've had since we met. Of course, that was only a few months ago..."_

_"Your team is handling the tests on Marisa, right? And we're off to find some other clues tonight, so all bases are covered."_

_"__A sports metaphor. I love it."_

_"Huh?"_

_I shook my head. "Nothing. Yeah, we're doing everything we can to determine what's wrong with her."_

_"So, where are we going for dinner before we head to the bar?" She pulled away, but still held my hands._

_"There are a couple of restaurants near The Black Keys." __I'd checked before I left my office.__ "Italian or Indian?"_

_"__Hmmm. I think Indian for a change. I could certainly do with a bowl of curry."_

_I grinned. "A girl after my own heart."_

_"I hope so." She winked at me. "I'm going to change into something a little more evening-appropriate."_

_The black slacks and pale gray blouse she was wearing would have done, but I guess she'd been in the outfit all day. Probably wanted a skirt or dress instead. For me, changing my T-shirt and adding a button-down shirt would be enough._

_When Jess emerged, I approved the change. She wore a short red skirt and a silky white blouse with three-inch heels. Her dark hair was swept off her face with part of it up and the rest dribbling down to her shoulders._

_A T-shirt wouldn't cut it. I put on a light blue shirt instead and a tweed jacket._

_The Indian place was small but busy. I hoped that meant the food would be good. Our curry came in small pots with lids, and our waiter dished the first spoonfuls onto our plates for us. The pungent smell was matched by the taste, hot enough to meet my standards but not so hot that the flavors of the chicken, vegetables and spices were masked. I finished all of mine and the small amount Jess left of hers. We didn't stay for dessert, since we expected there'd be some food at the club, but we added the place to our growing list of restaurants we'd return to._

_"I'd consider added this to our suppliers," Jess said as she got into the car. "But not until after we're in business for a few months."_

_"Giving your clients too many options might be detrimental," __I guessed._

_"Exactly."_

_The Black Keys was less than half a mile away. The small parking lot was almost full, but there was a handicapped spot not far from the door, so I took it and put my placard in the window._

_It was brighter inside than I expected. I remembered Marisa's comment about the customers being in the dark, although that may have been from the perspective of the stage. A young woman, not quite as pretty as Marisa, sat on the grand piano, singing her heart out. Unfortunately for her, her upper range was a bit screechy, but she gave it her best. _

_The man who greeted us, __medium height and dark hair and eyes,__ saw the way we studied her. "Our usual singer is in the hospital, but we expect __her__ back soon." _

_I wouldn't bet on it._


	139. Chapter 139

__Let's see whether House and Jess learn anything at the piano bar that will help with the diagnosis of Marisa.__

__Hope you enjoy ____this chapter.____ Leave a comment if you wi____sh.__

_**Chapter 139.**_

_"__I'd like to__ see the manager," I __tol__d the man __who'd greeted us__._

_"You're looking at him." __He smiled at them.__ "How can I help you?"_

_"Well, first you can seat us, and then you can answer a few questions about that usual singer __you mentioned__."_

_He frowned and narrowed his eyes. As he indicated an empty table to one side, he said, "All I can tell you is she worked here for the past six months, then she got sick, her voice started to go. Quiet girl, careful not to fraternize with the patrons, if you get my drift."_

_"You visited her __at the hospital __yesterday, brought her flowers and a box of chocolate." I stared into his dark brown eyes. _

_"__Yeah, so what of it? And how did you know?"_

_"Her condition worsened after that. We're trying to find out why."_

_"Hey, I didn't do nothin'!" __He held up his hands._

_"I didn't say you did. How have you been feeling the past few days?"_

_"Fine. Listen, mister. I don't know who you are or what your interest in Marisa is, but I don't have to answer your questions."_

_I took great pleasure in saying, "I'm her doctor and I'm afraid you do."_

_"Her doctor's that short guy with the big nose." He rubbed his own, which was almost as big as Taub's._

_"I'm his boss. What did you two talk about?"_

_He shrugged. "You know, the usual. How she was feeling, when she'd be outta there. So, how much longer you gonna keep her?"_

_"It depends on when we find out why she's worse than she was yesterday afternoon." On a hunch I asked, "What did she say when you asked how she was feeling?"_

_"That she was getting better. Wait, I remember she said something about being cold, but it was warm in the room."_

_That could mean she was already sick when he arrived. __"Did she mention any other visitors?"_

_He shook his head. "She is going to get better, isn't she?"_

_"We're working on it." I realized it didn't seem that way. Here I was, at a bar with a beautiful woman, while Marisa was still in that hospital bed. "I came here tonight mostly to get information that might help us." I pointed at the piano. "Is that the piano player who worked with Marisa?"_

_"Yeah. __Pat Crawford. __Why?"_

_"We learned that he gave her some herbal supplements when her voice started to go, and those made her condition worse instead of better. I'd like to talk to him."_

_The manager sighed with relief that he was no longer the object of my questions. __"When the set is over, I'll send him to you. Meanwhile, did the two of you want anything to drink? I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."_

_"House. Dr. House, and this is Miss Jessica Giordano."_

_"Giordano? Any relation to Peter Giordano?"_

_Jess frowned. "Which one?"_

_"There's two of 'em?"_

_I studied him. What could he tell us about Jess' __father or brother? __"Senior and junior."_

_"__I guess I mean senior. Older guy, from some town near the Pennsylvania border. Thinks he's a big shot."_

_"Yeah, that's senior. He's Jess' father." __I pointed to her.__ "What do you know about him?" Who knew what this guy knew. I was going to have to try him with a few other names._

_"Just that he's been trying to muscle in on a few places in this part of Princeton. I told him that he'd have to talk to Locarno about that."_

_"Anthony Locarno?" This was getting better and better. __Maybe I didn't have to bring up any names at all._

_"Yeah. You know him?" He sounded and looked surprised._

_"We've met. I know his son, Marcello, and his grandchildren."_

_"Anthony Locarno owns most of the buildings in this area. He's been a good landlord, fair on his rents and doesn't make a fuss if you're a few days late payin'."_

_"He has a reputation for being honest," Jess said. "And he's very generous in his donations to charities."_

_The manager nodded. "So I hear."_

_"We never got your name." By this time I was prepared for even more connections to my other puzzles._

_"Me? I'm Rudy. Rudy Atkins."_

_Thank goodness he wasn't related to all of these people. __"Rudy, you ever hear of someone named Carlo Molino?"_

_His hesitation was all I needed to know that he did, even when he said, "Who's he?"_

_"He's a big shot in Palermo and has some businesses here in New Jersey. But you already knew that, didn't you? What is his connection to this place? Or to you?"_

_Rudy sighed. "I told you Giordano tried to buy this place from Locarno. Well, before Locarno owned it, and several buildings in this area, Molino did."_

_"Locarno bought them from Molino?" That was a surprising piece of news. Or was it? How did it connect to Molino's vendetta against the entire Locarno clan? _

_"Yeah, about three years ago."_

_So, before Francesca died. Curioser and curioser. I glanced at Jess. She was frowning and shaking her head as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing._

_Rudy called a waiter over. "Get these folks whatever they want." The waiter nodded and took off. "I'll be back but it's almost time for the piano player's break. I'll send him over."_

_"Thank you." I wasn't only grateful __to__ him __for __making __Pat available._

_The music ended, and the piano player sauntered over to our table. "Rudy said you wanted to talk to me?"_

_"You know the herbal remedies you fed Marisa made her condition worse."_

_"So I heard, although I'm not sure I believe it."_

_"Have you visited her lately?"_

_He had to think about it, but eventually shook his head. "The last time was about five days ago."_

_"Give her anything?" __I demanded._

_"No one would let me. __They let me stay five minutes, then sent me on my way. __Why?" __He looked from me to Jess for the answer._

_"She's worse again. It's looking like an infection."_

_His eyes narrowed and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. __"So? What does that have to do with me?"_

_"I don't know. __All I know is that one day she was improving, we'd diagnosed her with nodules on her vocal cords, easily repaired, and then she was worse again." I glared at him, even though he probably had nothing to do with Marisa's current condition. The substitute singer was back by the piano. "I expect your break is over."_

_"What?" He turned and looked in the direction I was staring. "Oh, yes. Well, just so's you know, I didn't give Marisa any infection."_

_"No, I guess not."_

_He returned to his bench and began playing again. I realized I'd failed to tell him he could use a few piano lessons, but I didn't think he'd agree._

_The waiter arrived with our drinks and asked, "Did you want anything to eat? The burgers aren't bad."_

_"Sure, I'll have one."_

_Jess scowled. "Greg, we already had dinner."_

_"__So? Make that rare."_

_The waiter shook his head. __"We don't serve rare meat. __Afraid of customers getting sick if the meat__'__s not cooked enough.__"_

_"__Do you do m__edium rare? With fries."_

_"Coming right up. An__d__ the lady?" He turned to Jess._

_"All I wanted was some kind of desert."_

_"Ice cream? We have vanilla, chocolate and strawberry."_

_"No pie?" She looked disappointed._

_"Sorry. We had some apple but there's none left."_

_Jess sighed. "Make it chocolate, then. Two scoops." She must have noticed my smirk. "What?"_

_"__At least I ordered real food."_

_The waiter left. He couldn't hide his smile. _

_"__Ice cream__'__s as real as French fries and perhaps healthier."_

_"Perhaps."_

_The singer was __screeching out__Adele's ___Someone Like You___. The piano player wasn't helping, either. I would bet Marisa could sing it much better, especially before her vocal cord nodules. At least the burger, when it came, was juicy and flavorful, the fries crisp and salty with just the right amount of grease. _

_When they finished, the singer asked for requests. I was afraid of what she'd do to some of my favorites so I refrained from asking for something. But Jess __said, "I'd love to __hear one of __my__ favorites, ___Try___."_

_I rolled my eyes. "Don't ask her to do that," I pleaded. "She'll butcher it."_

_"Maybe she'll surprise us."_

_"Wouldn't you rather remember the song the way Pink did it?"_

_Meanwhile, several people had satisfied the request __for requests and we were being treated to an attempt at ___You Are So Beautiful___._

_The manager returned and we could turn our attention to him. "See why I want Marisa back?" he asked. So he knew how bad the replacement was._

_"Why don't you get someone else?"_

_He laughe__d. __"She's __Locarno's niece or great-niece or something. Anyway, he insisted I give her a job. I agreed, but with the condition that's it's only until Marisa returns."_

_I'd had time to consider what other questions to ask him. "Did you ever meet Francesca Molino?"_

_"Is she related to Carlo?"_

_"His dead wife." It was obvious he didn't know her. "Okay, how about Lucy Locarno."_

_Jess narrowed her eyes at me but didn't say anything._

_He nodded slightly. "__Tony's daughter-in-law. Heard she was killed in a car accident a while ago."_

_"How about Mike Morgan."_

_"That's a common name, but, yeah, I once met a Mike Morgan. He drove for a fruit company and made deliveries to the restaurants in the area."_

_"Probably the same one." I had to be careful here. "How did you meet him? You don't serve fruit."_

_"No, but we use fruit in our pies and other desserts."_

_"Speaking of which, the waiter said you were out of apple pie." I indicated Jess. "We wanted some."_

_"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I could go see whether there's anything left in the kitchen..."_

_"No, it'll wait. First, tell me, when was the last time you saw Mike Morgan?"_

_He rubbed the back of his head. "Seems to me I saw him recently. We had a delivery of cherries and apples early this morning, but it was another driver. It could have been yesterday or the day before."_

_"So he's still working for the fruit company. What's the name of it?" Jess asked._

_"__Bernini Fruit company."_

_"Bernini? Did you say Bernini?"_


	140. Chapter 140

__Hopefully you've been paying enough attention to remember names - and yes, there have been quite a few in this story. My muse has decided to throw me another curve ball, by the way. This story may turn out to be as long as any of George R.R. Martin's books!__

__Hope you enjoy ____this chapter.____ Leave a comment if you wi____sh.__

_**Chapter 140.**_

_"Who's Bernini?" Jess__' face reflected her confusion._

_"Giancarlo." It was all I had to say. _

_Recognition filled her eyes __first__. "So there's a connection between the fruit company and Molino's thug."_

_"More than likely Molino owns the company and is using Giancarlo's name."_

_"And Mike Morgan drives for him. The same Mike Morgan who killed my mother and Molino's wife, and probably Tina and Ricky's mother."_

_I nodded._

_Rudy had been watching our faces as we talked, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"_

_"Molino sent Giancarlo Bernini to New Jersey to kill one or more of the Locarno's. He openly owns two auto modification shops, but we think he also owns the company that provides your fruit. Morgan served time for __the __vehicular homicide that killed Jess' mother. He was also accused in the accident that killed Molino's wife, but the case was dropped and now Molino has him driving his delivery trucks. Now don't you find that curious?"_

_He __grimaced and __nodded. "Very curious. But aside from the fact that I get fruit from the Bernini fruit company, what does that have to do with me?"_

_"You provided a link we were missing, or rather information that indicates that Molino was behind his wife's death." I watched his reaction to that._

_He seemed to think about it for a few minutes before he said, "You said something about another person who was killed."_

_"Yes, Lucy Locarno. No one was ever charged in her death. We believe the driver who hit her car was Morgan. __Evvn the cops thought so, but couldn't prove anything. __What we don't know is why Molino has such a vengeance against the Locarnos."_

_"__Or why he would want his own wife dead," Rudy pulled over a chair from a nearby table and sat. __His interest was piqued.__ "This Molino is something, isn't he?" He shook his head. "But why are you investigating all of this? Isn't it a job for the cops?"_

_"To them, these are all old cases."_

_"Except for Giancarlo's attack on Ricky," Jess chimed in. "I bet he never reported it to the police."_

_I shrugged. "He's handling it himself. He and Marcello have bodyguards who are so good even I couldn't spot them. Besides, Giancarlo seems to be laying low for now."_

_"Do you think Molino would use Morgan again?" __Rudy's fingers steepled on the table._

_I shook my head. __"One more car accident might be one too many. He'll probably avoid that."_

_"So what can we do?" Rudy sounded like he wanted in on the action._

_"What you can do is let me know if Morgan delivers any more fruit to you, then keep him here until I can come and talk to him." I could try to corner him at the fruit company, but I didn't think I wanted to chance approaching him in enemy territory. The piano bar was safer, __especially if I believed Rudy had my back__._

_Jess put a hand on my arm. "Greg, are you sure you want to do that?"_

_"Rudy will be here." __I tilted my head toward the bar manager._

_"Maybe you should take someone else with you." __Her eyes pleaded even more than her tone._

_"Who? Wilson? __Pshaw.__ Could you imagine him up against someone like Morgan who'd kill without a second thought?"_

_"You __will__ just talk to __Morgan, won't you__?" She still looked worried._

_I nodded. "You know talking is one of my best weapons."_

_That brought a fleeting smile. _

_I'd had about enough of the so-called singer's caterwailing, so I drank the last of my bourbon in one gulp and stood. "I hope to hear from you, Rudy. And thanks." I grabbed my cane so I wouldn't have to shake his hand._

_Jess took my cue and stood, too. She smiled at Rudy. "I'm sure Greg will let Marisa know you asked about her."_

_"I really do care about the kid. Just so's you know."_

_As we left, I noticed that the poster indicating that Marisa Wells was singing was still up. I honestly hoped that she would be before long._

_Once we were in the relative privacy of the car, Jess asked, "What do you think?"_

_"About what? Morgan? The fruit company and Molino? Marisa's chances for a full recovery?"_

_"All of the above. I guess I mostly worried about the last even though I don't know her, but how does everything tie in together?"_

_"My guess is that there are a few players at work here. As I've been told frequently, your father is small potatoes, __so how your mother's death ties in, I don't know yet. B__ut the rest, I guess whatever feud there is between Tony Locarno and Carlo Molino goes back a ways. I wouldn't bet on how long Morgan's been working for Molino. In fact, I'm almost surprised Carlo didn't send __his__ local thug against the Locarnos instead of first Julio and then Giancarlo."_

_"Maybe he did." Her voice was low so I couldn't tell whether it was just Jess musing or she was telling me something._

_I smiled wryly when I realized what she referred to. Lucy's death. "__You think that was a direct attack on the Locarnos?"_

_"Don't you?"_

_I nodded as I started the car and pulled out of the lot. All the way home, I reviewed what I knew about the relationships between Molino and the Locarnos __and the timelines of the many events__. Something had to have triggered all of this. The only one who might know was Julio. He probably didn't even think it was important. I pulled into a parking spot near our place and realized I had a new source of information that I could tap, Julio's mother._

_Instead of getting out of the car, I started the engine again. Jess was halfway out, but sat down again._

_"Where are we going?"_

_"To see Julio and his mother."_

_She puzzled on that a minute or two, then the penny dropped. "She might know of something in the past that set Molino off on his vendetta."_

_"Bingo!" __We drove cross town to Julio's._

_Walking from our parking spot, half a block from __the apartment__ building, Jess continued, "It could also be that something happened between Tony Locarno and Molino's father or even his grandfather. __Carlo__'s not that old, is he?"_

_"That's a thought. Let's see what Signora Curci has to say." I rang the bell in the entryway to the building. They seemed to have beefed up security since I was there last._

_"Who's there?" Julio's voice came through rather tinny._

_"Dr. House and Jess. Can we come up?"_

_"Sure! Any time. You know that."_

_The buzzer sounded and we could enter, then take the elevator to his floor. Julio stood in the open doorway, a grin on his face._

_"__I'm so glad you're here. Mom's leaving tomorrow and I wanted her to meet the two of you." Then in a lower voice he added, "Don't say anything to her about the kidnapping, okay?"_

_I thought she knew, but then, there were lots of things I never told my mother. Why should Julio be any different?_

_He ushered us in. "Mama, look who's here. The doctor I told you about, and the woman who's starting a catering company."_

_He'd been talking to her in Italian, so I smiled at the small, dark-haired woman in the black dress and said, "Buongiorno, Signora Curci. Come va?"_

_She smiled. "Dottore, bene, grazie."_

_I'd established that she was fine, but my Italian was a little rusty. I wasn't sure I'd be able to ask all the questions I had for her without Julio to translate. "Does your mother speak any English?" I asked him._

_His mother answered for herself. "My English, she is not so good, but better here." She looked around. "Sit, please."_

_We all took seats on the couch and chairs in the living room. __Mrs. Curci insisted on making us coffee and feeding us pieces of her __home-made __biscotti. __I didn't object._

_As I munched on the delicious cookies __I __thought__ about how to broach the subjects I wanted to ask about, but Jess beat me to it._

_"We're so glad that you are visiting Julio. I know he misses his family in Palermo, but he has so many opportunities here. We hope he can stay."_

_Mrs. Curci tilted her head. __"__We miss him too."_

_"You met Tina, didn't you? A lovely girl, from a good family. The Locarnos are well-respected here." Jess was doing very well._

_There was only a flicker of reaction to the name Locarno. __"__Tina, she is as you say lovely." Mrs. Curci smiled. "I am happy Julio meet such nice girl."_

_I pressed the point. "For a Locarno."_

_"Tony Locarno, he come to Palermo, try to be how you say? Big shot?"_

_Interesting. "When was that?"_

_"Five, six years ago. You remember, Julio?"_

_But her son shook his head. "I never heard of the Locarnos until...until I came to America."_

_Mrs. Curci took a deep breath and let it out. "Carlo sent you, no? He no like Locarno. Say Francesca killed by Locarnos."_

_"It's not true, Ma. She was killed by a man named Mike Morgan." _

_"Julio's right," Jess said. "And tonight we learned that Morgan drives a truck for __the__Bernini Fruit Company."_

_Julio's eyes widened. "Bernini is Giancarlo's name."_

_"Carlo's friend?" Mrs. Curci was as surprised as her son._

_"We think Carlo actually owns th__at__ company."_

_"So Morgan works for Carlo!" Julio slapped a fist into the other palm. "There's your connection."_

_"One of them." I turned __back __to his mother. "What happened when Tony came to Palermo? Did Carlo prevent him from doing business there?"_

_"Si."_

_"Did you ever meet Tony?" Jess asked._

_"One, maybe two times. He come to our ristorante. Very polite, buona maniere." She looked at Julio for a translation._

_"She means he had good manners."_

_I summed it up. "But he was competition for Carlo, and Carlo didn't like that so he sent him on his way."_

_"Si. Yes."_

_"That explains a lot."_

_"But we still don't know why Francesca was killed," Jess pointed out._

_"__Or whether Morgan rammed the car your brother was driving because of his unrequited love for Ellie or because Molino sent him."_

_Jess shook her head. "Morgan was living in Dorsey then. It wasn't until he was released from prison that he moved to Princeton."_

_"It would be curious to find out how long he's been delivering fruit." I added it to the list of questions I'd ask him if I ever got the chance._

_Jess, as usual thought of something I hadn't considered. "Or even how long the fruit company has been operating." _

_"Mama, is there anything else you can tell us about Carlo?" Julio asked._

_"He has new girlfriend. Americana."_

_"Do you know her name?" She might have nothing to do with anything, but you never knew. I had to ask._

_"Her name is strano, strange. Beverly."_

_Jess and I exchanged glances. We didn't know any Beverly's. "__What is her surname? Um, cognome?"_

_"Cognome? Ah, also strange. Windermaker." She said it slowly._

_Now why did that ring a bell?_


	141. Chapter 141

__Let's see whether House figures out where he heard that name before. He also has to solve the rest of his puzzles. Is there a connection to one or more?__

__Hope you enjoy ____this chapter.____ Leave a comment if you wi____sh.__

_**Chapter 141.**_

_While Jess chatted with Julio and his mother, I puzzled over the name she mentioned: Windermaker. I know I heard or at least saw it recently. Finally, I shrugged thinking it was probably common enough and I'd seen it in a medical report or the new__s__paper._

_I looked at my watch, nearly eleven, and the biscotti were all gone. "We should leave. It's getting late." I stood._

_"Yes," Jess agreed. "But it was a pleasure to meet you and talk to you, Maria." __She bent over and hugged the woman._

_I wondered when they started using first names._

_"If you ever in Italia, you come see, yes?"_

_"Of course." Jess slipped her hand through mine. "We'd love to." She __smiled at__ the smaller woman and Julio._

_We returned to the car and drove home. This time __when I pulled up to the curb and turned off the engine__, I got out. Entering our place, Jess said, "All in all I think this was a fruitful night."_

_I guffawed. "I know what you did there."_

_She joined me. "Believe me, it wasn't on purpose. What I meant..."_

_I cut her off. "I know what you meant. We certainly know more than we did before we went to the piano bar."_

_"What were you worrying over while I was talking to Maria?"_

_"You noticed. Does the name Windermaker mean anything to you?"_

_"That's Carlo's new girlfriend, right?" She waited for me to nod before going on. "I don't know anyone by that name, but I'm sure there are plenty. It's probably not as common as Wanamaker or __Waterford or Wells."_

_"That's it!" The moment she said it I remembered. "Marisa's real name is Marlene Windermaker. I could kiss you." And, in fact, I did. And then I sobered. "Only this makes things even more complicated."_

_"Solve one or two puzzles and three more pop up."_

_"__It does seem that way__." __But I wondered whether connecting Marisa to the other puzzles in my life was such a bad thing. Perhaps I could use the fact that she was my patient to get more information. First I'd have to find out how Carlo's Beverly was related to Marisa and whether they'd been in touch recently. It wouldn't help me diagnose the singer, however. And it was too late to do anything more that night. I had even more important things to do._

_"Ready for bed?" Jess asked._

_"I noticed you said bed and not sleep." __I had enough strength left to wiggle my eyebrows, but anything else I might do would have to be done lying down._

_She laughed __and held out her hand to me__. "__What are you waiting for?"_

_As we walked to the bedroom, buttons were undone and zippers unzipped. We both kicked off our shoes before we reached the bed. Jess turned her lamp on to the lowest setting, just enough light for me to watch as she removed her __silky white __blouse and I unhooked her bra. Enough to see the swell of her breasts and the flat stomach._

_She pushed my __button-down__ o__f__f, too, and ran her palms over my __bare __chest and then around my neck, pulling my head towards her for a k__iss._

_A few more buttons and zippers an__d __her skirt and my trousers were __relegated to the floor with the other discarded clothes. Her panties were as silky as her shirt had been, but red like the skirt. It wasn't long before they joined the pile a__long with__ my briefs._

_My hands caressed the velvety skin of her shoulders, then shifted to cup her breasts, smooth and firm and just the right size for my long fingers to encircle. _

_Jess sighed as her own hands slid down my sides and around. The strokes by her fingers stirred my passion._

_I kissed her, long and hard, as I explored lower and incited her own desire. It wasn't long before we joined. As we continued kissing, we ascended to the peak of passion, lingering as long as we could before __slipping back down again. We lay with out bodies still pressed together, our heartbeats and breaths slowing. _

_When she could speak again, Jess said, "You're the best."_

_"Why thank you. You're not so bad yourself." I kissed the tip of her nose. _

_We cuddled for a while longer before heading to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed, this time to sleep._

_I expected that the jumble of thoughts I had about what we'd learned that night would keep me up. Usually, my mind won't let go of all it's working on at night and I have a hard time falling asleep. But since I'd been with Jess, I seemed to sleep better. Perhaps it was the physical activity before bed, or maybe it was only her presence beside me in the bed. In any case, I fell asleep immediately and woke with a clear head. I don't mean there were no puzzles to solve or strange connections __filling my prefontal cortex__, only that my mind was ready to deal with it all. After a couple of cups of java, that is._

_I turned and stretched. Jess took that as a cue to snuggle. "G'Morning," she muttered into my chest._

_"I certainly hope so."_

_She giggled. "How does ham and eggs sound?"_

_"Yummy."_

_She giggled again and extricated herself from my arms, padding to the bathroom for a quick stop before returning for her robe and heading for the kitchen to follow through on her promise._

_Slowly, I repeated the sequence, bathroom, robe, kitchen. By the time I arrived, coffee was brewing and the slices of breakfast ham were cooking in a skillet. The aromas made me hungrier than I already was._

_"__Any new ideas?" she asked when we finally sat down to eat._

_My mouth was full, giving me time to frame my answer. "Marisa's sister, or aunt, or cousin is Molino's new girlfriend. It probably doesn't matter that much what the relationship is, but Marisa is going to tell me whether she's in touch with Beverly, and what she knows about Molino's plans."_

_"Do you really think Marisa will tell you?"_

_"It depends on whether she wants to sing again or not."_

_Jess' eyes narrowed. "You're not going to use Marisa's condition to...to...to blackmail her, are you?"_

_"Only if she doesn't tell me willingly where she and Beverly fit into everything."_

_Jess frowned, but didn't say anything for a while. She pushed her eggs around her plate with her fork, her frown deepening. "Greg, do you know what's wrong with her?"_

_"Yup." __It had come to me as I walked from the bathroom to the kitchen. Perhaps my mind had been working on that puzzle while I slept._

_"And you won't do anything about it until she tells you what you want to know?" __Her eyes got narrower and narrower._

_I knew as a doctor that wasn't the ethical thing to do. Still I needed to know anything she could tell me. I sighed, __but I'd faced dilemmas like this before. Usual, what I needed dictated how I acted, not any lofty ideas of medical ethics. But maybe there was another way to ensure she talked. "Okay, I won't withhold my diagnosis as a means to force her to squeal on her relative."_

_"You don't even know whether they're related."_

_"The way things have been going lately, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone wasn't related to you. Or me." I laughed, but it was something to ponder, especially any new connections to Jess and her family. "I'm going to get dressed and head to the hospital to see what I can pry out of my patient. Need a lift to your sister's place?"_

_"No. I have some things to do at home, and later __Nina__'s coming here to talk about staffing."_

_I speared the last of my ham and stuffed it in my mouth, then headed to the bathroom for my morning ablutions. __I dressed and stopped in the kitchen for a last sip of coffee and a kiss before leaving for the hospital. _

_An hour or so later, I entered Marisa's room. She was watching the tube, some cooking show but not one I'd ever seen._

_"Do you know what's wrong with me?" She clicked off the set __and sat up straighter__._

_"I have an idea. We'll have to do one more test to confirm, but I think it's more of an allergy than an infection."_

_"Oh!" She frowned._

_"Have you had any visitors besides your boss? Nice guy, by the way. He's worried about you and not only because his replacement can't sing at all."_

_She shook her head. "Rudy's the only one, besides all of you doctors. Oh, and your friend Ricky." She grinned when she said his name._

_"Your relatives haven't visited?"_

_She shook her head. "My dad died a couple of years ago and Mom lives in California. I don't see __her much."_

_"You didn't tell her you were in the hospital?"_

_"I didn't want to worry her."_

_"What about siblings?"_

_She hesitated. "I have a half-sister, from Dad's first marriage."_

_"I gather you're not close."_

_"You could say that. Anyway, she went to Italy for art school and stayed. I haven't seen her for over a year." She frowned. "Why are you asking about my relatives? Does it have something to do with what's wrong with me?"_

_Rather than admit the truth, I used a generality. "Allergies run in families."_

_"Mom's allergic to shellfish, but I've never had a problem with that."_

_"Well, we're going to do what's called a patch test."_

_She nodded. "I had those as a child. But the only thing it showed was a reaction to dust mites. I'm very careful with my bedding because of that."_

_"That's a very common allergy." I checked her nose and throat. Both showed slight rhinitis, a reaction to airborne irritants and allergens. __The flowers that Rudy brought her would be a place to start. If she was allergic to one or more of them, it would be a simple explanation for some of her recent symptoms, but I didn't think we'd resolve this that easily. "I'll have one of my staff give you the test and we'll go from there." An elevated white cell count might indicate an allergic reaction, but rarely one as severe as hers was._


	142. Chapter 142

__This is a short chapter, and I barely finished in time to post today since I didn't have much time to write while our visitors were here. __

__Hope you enjoy____.____ Leave a comment if you wi____sh__

_**Chapter 142.**_

_I left her room and headed back to my office, hoping the team or at least one member of it would be in the conference room. Luckily, Chase was there, writing things on the white board._

_"Who said you could use my markers?" I made sure there was enough petulance in my voice that I'd get a good response from him. _

_"They don't have your name on them."_

_I picked one up. "It says Good Helpers. That's me."_

_"So do we call you Good or Helper?"_

_"God. They spelled it wrong."_

_He rolled his eyes. "House, what did you want?"_

_"Run patch tests on the warbler. Include __tests for __the flowers in the bouquet her boss brought her."_

_"You think it's an allergy?" he asked._

_I just glared at him._

_"Right. I'll get on it immediately." He dropped the marker he was writing with and left._

_I studied what he'd written and smiled. His mind had gone in a completely different direction than mine, but it was still quite a jump from where we had been. __The elegance of his leap didn't escape my notice. No one saw my smile._

_I tapped the marker in my hand against my chin as I considered. __Maybe it wasn't an allergy, or maybe the source of any allergic reaction was more widespread than I imagined. If Chase was right in his ideas, than the flowers had nothing to do with it. There were other things Marisa could have been exposed to in the hospital, ranging from the perfume (or after shave) one of the nurses wore to __the __plastic containers holding water and other drinks. I had to assume Chase would test for all of them._

_While I waited for the results, I did a little search on Marisa's family. First I wanted to confirm that she was telling the truth about her half sister and about her parents. But I particularly wanted to learn anything else I could about Beverly. Marisa hadn't lied, but there was very little online about the family. __None of them were involved in anything newsworthy. I found the obituary for her father. All it told me was the names of his wife and two daughters, which I already knew. Dead end __both literally and figuratively__._

_As I learned when I was researching Molino and everyone else who came from Italy, getting information about Italian citizens or former Italian citizens __or even visitors to Italy __was problematic. Scratch that avenue._

_Mrs. Curci had told us all she knew about Molino's new girlfriend. I remembered, though, that Cuddy had been somewhat helpful in tapping her Italian medical source. Could he provide more __information __about the Sicilian connection?_

_I sighed as I stood and headed toward my boss' office, wondering what I'd have to offer to get her to cooperate. As always, she was on the phone. She glared at me when she saw me through the glass. I tapped my cane a few times to indicate I was in a hurry to see her, but she continued to jabber away. Finally, almost ten minutes later she hung up and motioned for me to come in._

_"What's it this time, House?"_

_"Who says I want something?"_

_"You don't come down here unless you do. In fact, your tendency is to avoid me." She smirked. "Why, __if I saw you __I might ask you to actually do some work."_

_I bunched up my mouth and let the air out slowly, preparing my approach. "I was wondering if you've heard anything from your contact in Sicily. __Sylvester.__"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Sal. Salvatore__ Cavalieri."_

_"__Yes, that's the one. I know you've been kinda busy with Marcello..."_

_She compressed her lips. "Not that it's any of your business, but since you were the one who introduced us, all I'll say is he's going to be a good addition to the hospital board."_

_I smiled. "Good. And it means you won't have to deal with Jess' father, right?"_

_"Right," she admitted reluctantly._

_"__Or even Marcello's father. __So, you'll give Sal a call?"_

_"What do you want to know?" Her eyes narrowed._

_"What the gossip is about Molino and his new girlfriend."_

_She took a deep breath and let it out. "That's going to cost you. Talking Locarno into letting his son take the seat on the board isn't enough."_

_"Not even if he becomes your new boy toy?"_

_"House!"_

_I held my hand up to ward off her fury. "Okay. Whaddya want? My first born? Because that's not gonna happen."_

_"From now on your team will take on two patients at a time." She held up two fingers just in case I forgot how to count._

_"You know we can't do that."_

_"You can if you, and I mean you personally spend more time on your patients and less on chasing some cockamamie puzzles."_

_I was already thinking of how to get out of this, but I'd have to bide my time first, agree in principle and then, well, anything could happen. "Agreed. Now get on the horn and find out what you can." I hit her desk phone with my cane so the receiver __fell out of__ the cradle._

_She shook her head and picked it up but didn't replace it, so I left her to make the call._

_That accomplished, I went back to Marisa's room, still hoping she could tell me something I could use about her sister. But she was asleep for once. I backed out immediately. Time to get some nourishment._

_The cafeteria was filling up with the lunchtime crowd. I spotted my BFF getting his food and slipped in behind him, grabbing a sandwich, chips, an apple, and a slice of lemon meringue, then slipping them onto his tray as he took out his wallet._

_Wilson turned to me, shrugged and sighed, and told the cashier, "He's with me."_

_She'd been there a while, long enough t__hat she wasn't__ surprised. "That'll be eighteen dollars, Dr. Wilson."_

_"Even with this?" I added the largest soft drink they had. She added that to the tab, took Wilson's credit card, and we headed to a small table._

_"__Something's on your mind." Wilson never hesitated to state the obvious._

_"There's always something on my mind. Multiple somethings. Pieces of the Molino puzzle are coming together, but I'm left with extra pieces that don't fit." I bit into my roast beef sandwich and chewed. Once I swallowed I went on. "Marisa's half sister is his latest girlfriend." I shook my head, ignoring Wilson's startled expression. "Unfortunately, they're not close. __The sisters, I mean. __Marisa hasn't seen or talked to Beverly in some time."_

_"There has to be a connection."_

_"Yes, but to what? Marisa is a singer at a piano bar. What does that have to do with Molino's vendetta against the Locarno's?" Then I admitted what was really annoying me. "I introduced her to Ricky Locarno. Now who could have predicted that __might not be such a good idea__?"_

_"If she doesn't have any contact with her sister, she can't be involved in any way with Molino. Don't kick yourself for playing matchmaker." Wilson chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd do that, by the way."_

_"Yeah, well, it seemed a good idea at the time." I munched on my chips as several thoughts fought it out in my head. "The piano bar gets their fruit from a company owned by Molino, or maybe by his thug, Giancarlo."_

_Wilson scratched his head. "I think I'm going to have to write this all down to keep track."_

_"It gets worse. Mike Morgan drives for that company and at times has been the delivery man for the Black Keys."_

_H__e whistled and h__is eyes narrowed. "Does Marisa know Morgan? Have they met at the club?"_

_Now that's why Wilson ma__k__e__s__ a great sounding board. "Interesting. I'll have to ask her." _

_"Maybe that's your connection, not the sister."_

_"Perhaps." I sipped my coke. Too watery, but how did that differ from usual? _

_"Has your team figured out what's wrong with her, besides the nodules?" _

_It wasn't a change of subject, not really, but I'd have to think about the Marisa-Morgan link before I came up with some theories, so it was a welcome change. "Chase did some patch tests."_

_"You think it's allergies rather than an infection?"_

_I shrugged. "__I'm not quite grasping at straws, but we've ruled out most infections. The strange thing is that it started after she'd been here a while."_

_"The hospital takes all kinds of precautions to eliminate allergens."_

_"That's true, but she has had a couple of visitors, and doctors and nurses going in and out." I narrowed my eyes as a thought occurred to me, __combined with where Chase's ideas might lead__. "Who did you have working with her when you took over the case?"_

_"You think one of the oncology staff is to blame?"_

_"Blame is such a harsh word, but yes." __I smirked._

_"__The usual nurses and orderlies. Yvette Coleman, um, Mary James, and that new oncology nurse, Don Markham, were the principle ones, I think."_

_I hadn't met the new nurse, but the two women were old pros, knew what they could and couldn't do. "How can I find Markham?"_

_"I'll bring him to your office this afternoon. But I'm sure he follows hospital regs." Wilson placed his hand flat on the table. "How could he cause an allergic reaction?"_

_"Who knows? Bring him by at two and we'll see." I finished my lunch and stood, leaving my things for Wilson to bus. Could it be that simple? Could exposure to Markham have caused Marisa's latest problems?_


	143. Chapter 143

__We may be getting to cause of Marisa's recent problems, but House is also about to stir a hornet's nest.__

__Hope you enjoy ____the chapter____.____ Leave a comment if you wi____sh. ____You know how much I love them.__

_**Chapter 143.**_

_I met Chase in the hall on my way back to my office. "Anything?"_

_He shot me a quizzical look. "She's allergic to something, but not anything I can pinpoint."_

_"Wilson's bringing a new oncology nurse to my office at two. I want you there."_

_"A new nurse?" __His eyes narrowed even more._

_"One of the ones who did the preliminary work for Wilson's treatment." I knew he didn't need more explanation than that. He'd probably realize that this was related to his speculations on the white board, but it couldn't be helped. At least I wasn't going to come out and say so._

_He smiled slightly and nodded. __"I'll be there." He walked off in another direction, and I continued on. __The light was blinking on my office phone when I reached my desk. Usually I ignore it, because anyone I wanted to talk to would call my cell rather than my office, but something told me this time I should answer._

_It was Rudy, the manager of the Black Keys. "Dr. House, he's here. Morgan. I don't think I can keep him here much longer, but if you come over now, you might still catch him." __His voice was barely above a whisper. __The time stamp on the message was five minutes earlie__r._

_I called Rudy back. "Is he still there?"_

_"Yeah. I made a big deal of insisting I count the lemons, and then the limes. And then I offered him a drink on the house. But he's almost done."_

_"I'm on my way. Stall him another ten minutes." I didn't really think about it, about any physical danger, about the fact that Wilson would be in my office in less than an hour with Markham. This was my chance to see Morgan, and maybe confront him. Grabbing my cane, I rushed back out and down to the parking garage. I reached the piano bar eight minutes after I spoke to Rudy._

_He stood at the bar, talking to a tall, well-built man in his __late __forties with sandy hair and a scar on the side of his face that I could se__e. __Rudy smiled when he saw me and put down the glass he'd been rubbing with a bit of towel. "House. How ya doin'?"_

_"Okay."_

_Rudy filled the glass with two fingers of bourbon and pushed it across the counter to me. "Do you know Mike here?" He lifted his chin towards Morgan._

_"I don't think I've had the pleasure." I sipped my drink._

_Morgan eyed me with little interest. __"Well, I've spent more than enough time here for one day. The boss'll wonder where I've gone off to if I don't finish my rounds and get back."_

_"Oh, off to kill someone?"_

_Morgan __stopped and __frowned at me._

_"Or should I say someone else?" __I glared at him._

_"I__'ll__ kill you if you don't shut your mouth. What do you think you're accusing me of?"_

_"__Y__ou paid for the first one, __served your time__. Or was it the first? Doesn't matter. And then the second - did your boss approach yu when you got out and tell you if you did it again, he'd make sure you didn't even go to trial?"_

_The color drained from his face, replaced by a rage. He seemed to pull himself together as he turned to the club manager. "__Who is this guy?" The anger simmered __just below the surface__. __Had I gone too far? But at least I'd gotten a reaction._

_"Tell me, did you kill Lucy Locarno, too?"_

_He pushed away from the bar so suddenly that the stool behind him fell over. "That's it. I'm outta here." He turned and fled. That was better than him taking a swing at me, of course, but I wish he'd answered my questions._

_"I'm afraid you've done it now," Rudy said, refilling my glass._

_"Yes, I've served notice. Morgan knows now that he's not safe, that people are watching him."_

_"He also knows that you're one of those people, __Doc__. What are you going to do about it?"_

_I rubbed the side of my face, downed the rest of my drink and shook my head. "He doesn't know who I am, where I live or work. He doesn't even know what kind of car I drive. I think I'm safe. But I think he's going to do something, something rash, so I have to warn a few people he might __go__ after. Thanks for the drink. See you later."_

_Rudy grabbed my wrist, not very tightly. "Wait, House. What's the latest on Marisa?"_

_"We think it might be some kind of allergy brought on by exposure to one of the nurses at the hospital."_

_"Is that common?" __He looked skeptical._

_"No, because the nurses at the hospital are warned to avoid scents and clothing that would set off any kind of reaction in a patient. But this guy is new. Who knows what he did at his last job, what they allowed. It could be something as simple as a cologne or aftershave, or something harder to pin down, but we're working on it. So I have to go. Thanks again for the call."_

_"Yeah, well, you made it sound important __that you see Morgan__."_

_"It was. See ya, Rudy."_

_I headed back to the hospital. By the time I reached my office, Chase was there along with Wilson and a tall, slim young man with bright red hair and a pug nose. _

_"House, where were you?" Wilson made a point of looking at his watch._

_"Had to see a man about a..." Nothing smart-ass came to mind __s__o I let it hang. "This the new nurse?"_

_"Yes. This is __Don Markham."_

_Markham wasn't smiling. In fact, there was a tightness around his mouth and he stood stiffly next to Wilson. "I didn't do anything wrong. Honestly."_

_"What kind of aftershave do you use?" I studied his clean-shaven chin._

_"Huh?" Markham looked at Wilson for an ex__p__lanation._

_"__Answer him."_

_"Uh, whatever's cheapest at CVS. Usually their own brand, because we nurses don't make the big bucks like you guys." Somehow his attempt at sarcasm was undermined by his crossed arms and flickering eyelids._

_"You did read the regs when you were hired, didn't you? Have to be sure your toiletries are hypoallergenic."_

_Markham nodded. "Yeah, sure. I mean, my skin is as sensitive as any of the patients."_

_"So that cheap stuff is hypoallergenic." __I tapped my cane while I thought._

_"Doctor, why are you asking me about this? What about the other nurses?"_

_"They've been here forever and would never expose a patient to anything that could cause a reaction."_

_"Yeah, well tell that to the short one, __Yvette something." __He darted a look at Wilson._

_"Coleman," Wilson provided. "Why do you mention her?"_

_"Every time I've been near her, my eyes start to water. I even got a rash." Markham pushed up his sleeve to reveal a few red welts._

_I looked at Wilson with narrowed eyes, and his eyebrows went up._

_"I'll go find her." Wilson was shaking his head as he left, muttering something like 'she should know better'. It wasn't long before he was back with the short, slight woman. She was arguing with Wilson. __My friend rolled his eyes. "Her boyfriend gave her some kind of expensive perfume for her birthday, and insisted she wear it."_

_"It__ was real fancy__ stuff," Yvette protested._

_"That doesn't make it harmless." I fixed her with my sternest glare. "You know better, don't you? We've got a patient who's treatment was delayed because of her reaction. And Red, here, got a nasty rash just from being near you." I poked my cane at Markham._

_"You did?" Yvette asked her fellow nurse._

_Of course, he had to show her the rash._

_She pooh-poohed it, but she also looked a little more abashed. "Are you sure it was my perfume that did all that?"_

_"There's only one way to find out. Are you wearing it now?" __I asked._

_Yvette hesitated. "__No. My boyfriend and I broke up and I threw it out, along with everything else he gave me."_

_I grimaced. "Do you at least remember what it was called?"_

_She rubbed her mouth and shook her head. "Some kind of flower? Or maybe it was...no, I don't remember."_

_"Can you describe the bottle it came in?" Wilson prompted._

_"Dr. Wilson, I'm sorry, I can't help you." There was regret in her eyes, but Wilson was right. We had to push her to remember. It was vital to finding out what set Marisa's symptoms off._

_"Yvette, think. Was it green? Clear? Amber?" I tried to remember what some of Jess' fragrances looked like. "How did it smell? Flowery? Spicy?"_

_She held up her hands, palms out. "Please stop. I can't think while you're badgering me."_

_I turned from her and rolled my eyes._

_"Yvette, we're only trying to jog your memory." Chase's voice was comforting. "I know it's painful. It brings back thoughts about your boyfriend. Your ex-boyfriend. But if you can detach yourself from that part, or even as a way to get back at him, if you can tell us what perfume he gave you, it'll help someone else, __a patient__."_

_She looked from one of us to the other, her eyes flickering, her mouth half open. "__I think it was a gold color, pale gold, and __it smelled a little like cinnamon__."_

_That struck a bell. Cinnamaldehyde was a known allergen and used as a scent in many products. "I guess we have our culprit."_

_"You know what perfume it was?" Wilson asked._

_"No. But __it doesn't matter. __I'd bet what ingredient we're dealing with." I looked at the nurse and her narrowed eyes. "Guess you can stop beating on your tiny brain." __I tapped her head with a finger.__ "Next time find a boyfriend with better taste in presents."_

_"__Can I go now?" She seemed in a hurry to get away from me._

_"Sure. You too," I told Markham. _

_They both scurried away. Chase turned to go, too. "I'll test her for a reaction to cinnamaldehyde."_

_"So that's it? Can I proceed with treating her vocal cord nodule now?"_

_I nodded. But I wasn't through with Marisa. It was time to talk to her about Mike Morgan._


	144. Chapter 144

__Will House realize the consequences of his rash confrontation with Morgan?__

__H____ere's another chapter. Let me know what you think.__

_**Chapter 144.**_

_I waited until Chase tested for the allergen, and then slid open the door to Marisa's room._

_"Dr. House, Dr. Chase said you've identified what I'm allergic to." She was smiling._

_"We think so. But I need to ask you about something else. Did the __piano __bar ever get deliveries while you were there?"_

_She didn't answer right away, but seemed to be thinking about it. "Occasionally, when I was there __in the afternoon __rehearsing the liquor delivery man came by."_

_"What about the fruit guy? From __Bernini Fruit Company?"_

_She shrugged. "Maybe. I didn't really pay attention to what was happening in the storerooms."_

_"Tall guy, well-built. Named Mike?" I tried to jog her memory._

_She started to shake her head, then stopped. "You know, I think I saw him a few times, standing in the doorway to the back, watching me."_

_"Like he was keeping an eye on you?"_

_She shrugged again. "I guess so. I didn't really __watch__ him." __Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"_

_I was sure Francesca could have said the same. __Was Morgan stalking her? Or had Molino and his girlfriend asked him to watch __Marisa__?_

_I ignored her question. __"__Once you're doing better, Dr. Wilson will resume your treatment." No need to tell her more. Ricky was already taking precautions against Giancarlo. If __Ricky was in __a relationship with her, I'd tell him to be on the lookout for Mike Morgan, too. Then again, how do you guard against some truck hitting your car?_

_It must have been telepathy or something, but who should I meet coming off the elevator as I was about to get on but Ricky Locarno._

_He smiled. "Hi, Dr. House. How's Marisa today?"_

_"Better. We've gotten to the bottom of what was wrong, and she should be starting treatment for her vocal problems."_

_His smile spread to a grin. "That's great news. Um, I didn't know what to bring her. Is this alright?" He held out a box of Italian pastries. _

_They looked so tempting, I was considering confiscating them, __at least one of the cannolis, __but decided I'd just ask Marisa to share. "Is there any cinnamon in them?"_

_"Cinnamon? I don't think so. Why?"_

_I sniffed the box. "If she starts sneezing come get me." I caught sight of Markham walking down the hall. "Better yet...hey, Markham. Come over here and be our canary-in-a-coal-mine."_

_"Huh?" The red-headed nurse came closer._

_"Let's see what happens when you hold this box."_

_Both of the young men were completely confused by what I asked, but Markham took the box from Ricky._

_"Okay, now give it back and let me see your hands." I examined the palms and smiled. They were clean as a whistle. "Ricky, I hope she enjoys those and tell her to save one for me. __Or two.__"_

_"Sure, Doc." He continued on toward Marisa's room._

_Markham still looked puzzled. "Did you need me for anything else?"_

_"Not a thing." I pressed the button for the elevator again as he walked away, __shaking his head__. __He was new. He'd learn to read between the lines of whatever I said._

_I returned to my office with a growing feeling that there w__as something else__ I should be doing, but my mind wouldn't give __it__ up. I leaned back in my office chair and tossed my ball up in the air, catching it one handed for a while until my eyes fell on Marisa's file and I jumped up again, rushing back to her room._

_She and Ricky were chattering away and smiling at each other. I rolled my eyes. She held out the box of pastries to me. "Ricky said you wanted one."_

_"Yeah, maybe later. Marisa, did Yvette leave anything here or give you something?"_

_"Who's Yvette?"_

_"One of Dr. Wilson's nurses. Short." I held my hand about the height of my chest._

_"Oh, the friendly one." Marisa started to shake her head, then stopped. "She left a lacy handkerchief. I meant to give it back to her, but I never saw her again."_

_"Where is it?"_

_"Well, I didn't want anyone to take it, so I've been keeping it under my pillow." She reached under and pulled out a pink piece of fabric. "Why?"_

_"It wasn't only __one-time __exposure to her perfume that's affected you, it's continued exposure. You should have improved after the last time you saw her, but that handkerchief probably absorbed some of her perfume." _

_Marisa held the cloth to her nose, and I rolled my eyes again before grabbing it from her._

_"Haven't you been listening? This thing is keeping you from getting better." I sniffed it myself. A faint cinnamon scent remained. __I held it at arms length, away from the patient._

_"So once you get rid of that she'll get better?" Ricky asked._

_"Well enough for Dr. Wilson to work his magic on her." __I stared at Marisa, thinking I should be badgering her some more about Morgan or her step-sister, but decid__ed__ I'd wait for her to come to me. I left, taking the offending frilly __hanky __away with me. I passed Chase in the hallway._

_He did a double take and looked carefully at what I was holding. _

_I stuck it under his nose._

_He wrinkled it. "Where'd you find that?"_

_"Under Marisa's pillow."_

_"What were you doing..."_

_I smirked at him. "She was keeping it there until she saw Yvette again."_

_"So that's why she wasn't getting any better."_

_I nodded._

_He nodded too and continued on._

_This time when I returned to my office, I felt a lot less unsettled. The hanky dropped into my trash can, making not a sound. I leaned back in my chair __again __and closed my eyes._

_I could have been there five minutes or fifty when my phone rang. It was Rudy again. What did he want this time? "__Hello, Rudy."_

_"Dr. House, I think you were right. Morgan reacted to your taunting." __His voice was high and he was shouting, as if he was angry._

_"What did he do?" I was suddenly alert._

_"He drove his truck through the window at the front of the bar."_

_I whistled. _

_"No one was hurt, and he backed off and drove away, but I know it was him. The piano player saw the truck. Doc, how do I pay to have that fixed?"_

_"Don't you have insurance?" Everyone did, especially business owners._

_"Well, yeah, but what's to stop him from doing it again. And again. Or maybe next time something worse?" He sighed. "__Someone could have been hurt."_

_"I hear ya." What else could I say? What I did got Morgan to react and that was a good thing. It would have been better if he'd done something else, something that would hurt Molino's cause in some way.  
>"You should press charges. If you have a witness that it was his truck, and you saw him driving it earlier, it might be enough to get him off the streets. With his record, they'd be certain to hold him in the hoosegow."<em>

_"Yeah, well I did call the cops and file a report." __He was calming down a bit__. "A__nd __Pat, the piano player, you remember him? He told them it was Morgan's fruit truck, so I guess you're right. They'll pick him up. If they can find him. If he hasn't run off. That's a big if. It's what I'd do under the circumstances."_

_"But you aren't Mike Morgan. He doesn't hesitate to kill or to damage property, doesn't run from anyone."_

_"Let's hope you're right. The sooner he's in jail, the better I'll like it."_

_"If he runs instead, he'll be gone from the scene anyway. Ever think about that? This might have been the best thing that could happen."_

_He blew a raspberry that seemed to wet the phone at my end. "Easy for you to say. I still have to take care of the damage."_

_A teeny smidge of guilt crept into my head. "I'll cover what the insurance doesn't. Don't worry, Rudy. Your troubles with Mike Morgan are over. And I have more good news. We know what caused Marisa's reaction and why it continued, so we'll be able to fix her up good as new before long." _

_"That's probably the best news I've had today. Thanks, Doc."_

_"I'll let you know when we'll be kicking her outta here."_

_"Do that." The phone went dead on the other end of the line._

_I stared at my phone, processing what might happen next with Morgan, but I was convinced I was right. __I'd forced him to do something stupid that would put him behind bars, at least for a while. How would that affect Molino's plans? Without Morgan to do his dirty work, he'd have to send Giancarlo out in the open again if there was anyone he wanted to eliminate or even scare. _

_So who would they go after next? The Locarnos were his prime target, for __some__ reason __I still couldn't fathom__, but Marcello and Ricky had taken precautions. They were probably protecting Tina, too, although I'd have to confirm that with Ricky. Would Molino be so stupid as to go after Tony? He'd been mostly smart and careful up to now._

_I __hoped__ Ricky was still visiting with Marisa. I needed a word or two with him. But was there anyone else who was in danger from the Sicilian? Somehow I doubted Morgan__'s__ recent attack on Ellie was at Molino's behest. No, that was personal._

_Once more, I headed to our patient's room. As luck would have it, Ricky was just leaving. "Care for a cup of coffee?" I asked him._

_"I should get back to the office before my grandfather has a conniption."_

_"It won't take long." I steered him to the elevator and when we reached the ground floor, to the cafeteria. I looked around. "Are you still keeping a guard nearby?"_

_He grinned. "See the guy in the scrubs sitting with an older man in jeans and a t-shirt?"_

_I had to admit I hadn't noticed either of them, but now that I had, I realized one or the other had been in the hallway every time I'd seen Ricky. I nodded. "Good. What about your uncle? And Tina?" __We each got a cup of coffee and sat at a table not far from the guards._

_"We're well protected. Why? Have you seen the guy who attacked me?"_

_"No, but I have a feeling he'll show up sometime soon. Have you seen a big guy, mid-forties?" I described Morgan._

_Ricky's eyes narrowed and he rubbed his ear. "I haven't noticed anyone, but I'll ask Roger. That's the younger guy over there."_

_"He may be out of the picture for now, but that means Molino only has Giancarlo left to do his dirty deeds. I have a feeling things will heat up pretty quickly now."_

_"Thanks for the warning, Dr. House." Ricky looked around the cafeteria, then leaned closer to me. "What about Marisa? Molino might not know she and I have gotten close." _

_"He probably knows. He's been watching her, or at least had someone keeping tabs on her."_

_Ricky frowned. "Why?"_

_"Did she ever mention her step-sister, Beverly?"_

_He shook his head._

_"Beverly is Molino's latest girlfriend."_

_Ricky sat back in his chair, a stunned look on his face. "Why didn't you tell me before?"_

_I shrugged. "I wasn't sure what it meant. Still not sure. If I'd known, I doubt I would have introduced you."_

_"Well, I'm glad you did. She's a terrific person. Not just pretty, but smart and sweet." He glanced at his two bodyguards. "I'll have to arrange some sort of watch on her. The hospital may be safer than other places, but you never know."_

_I thought about all the times the hospital hadn't been safe and had to agree with him. "We'll do what we can." _

_Ricky finished his coffee and stood. "Thanks, Dr. House, for keeping me apprised of the situation."_

_I nodded, hoping whatever precautions he was taking would be enough._


	145. Chapter 145

__Will they have to take more precautions to guard against Morgan? Who will he target next?__

__H____ere's another chapter. Let me know what you think.__

_**Chapter 145.**_

_I watched Ricky's guards leave the cafeteria after he did and got up to leave myself, but was stopped by my boss. __Her hands were on her hips, and s__he didn't look happy. What had I done now?_

_"Marcello Locarno is insisting that the security in the hospital isn't sufficient. __H__e wants to post a guard on your patient. What do you know about this?"_

_Wow, that was fast! __I couldn't tell her everything, just enough to get her to accept Marcello's demands. "Someone came after Ricky a week or so ago, and they've been on their guard ever since. That extends to everyone in their family. __N__ow Ricky's been spending time visiting Marisa..." I left her to draw her own conclusions._

_"So you think there's really __some kind of__ danger?" Her voice had that shrill quality it sometimes got when she was worried but not sure whether she should be._

_"It can't hurt to take extra precautions. I'm surprised he didn't suggest a guard for you, too."_

_"Why would he?" Her eyes narrowed._

_I __smirked__. "Guess it hasn't gotten to that point, huh?"_

_"House I don't know what you're insinuating." Her nostrils flared._

_"Then again, I'm sure you wouldn't mind if the two of you got a little closer." __I held two fingers together._

_She turned on her four-inch heels and walked away, the tap of her shoes echoing __into __the hall._

_Ricky moved fast. It was probably for the best. _

_As I made my way to my office, __I wondered __again__ who __else __needed protection, but I couldn't think of anyone offhand. Was there a way to find out whether Morgan had been apprehended yet? Rudy might know, so __when I reached my desk, __I called him back._

_"Any word on Morgan?" I asked._

_"No. The window guy was just here and fixed me up. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I paid more to replace my car windshield." He sounded a bit calmer than earlier._

_"If you think you need __to take precautions in the near future, I could arrange something __or ask someone to do it for you__."_

_"Could you? My cousin Dominic came down __to the bar__. Big bruiser of a guy." __An image of some wrestler type standing in front of the fruit truck, heavily-muscled arms crossed in front of him came to mind. "__But who knows what Morgan will do next." _

_I didn__'t want to bring up __the possibility that next time it __might __be __Giancarlo __instead of Morgan__. __Who knew what the thug from Sicily was capable of. __But__Rudy had enough to worry about.__ "__I'll do what I can. Meanwhile, we're __working on getting__ your songbird back on her feet and in good voice again."_

_"You don't know how glad I am to hear that." __The relief in his voice was clear._

_"Oh, I heard your replacement, so I can understand."_

_Rudy chuckled. "The one bright spot to all this Morgan business is that she heard about what happened and quit. I think for a while we'll just go with the piano player. Would it be okay for me to visit Marisa tomorrow? I still have stuff to do here today, or I'd come right over."_

_"Tomorrow would be fine. She'll be happy to see you." I didn't know that for a fact, but she did seem to like her boss. I was about to end the call when another question popped into my head. "Did you ever meet her sister?"_

_"I didn't even know she had a sister." His reply seemed genuine, so I didn't pursue it._

_"Guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. Let me know if the cops ever contact you about Morgan."_

_"Will do."_

_So far, the only one who'd mentioned that Beverly was Molino's new main squeeze was Julio's mother. Marisa was unaware that her half-sister was in Palermo, or anything else about her. __I'd never asked __Cuddy __if her__ Italian connection had come up with any__thing__, __but __seeing __the mood she'd been in earlier, I wasn't about to ask just yet. I'd have to hope that if Cuddy heard anything, she'd pass it on to me. Meanwhile, I'd work on how to get out of my part of the deal I'd made to get her to contact her friend._

_That left Marisa's mother. It was odd that she hadn't visited her daughter while she was in the hospital. Most people weren't like me. They kept in touch with their parents and leaned on them in times of trouble. As Marisa's doctor, I supposed I could contact Mrs. Windermaker for her. It wouldn't require any breach of patient-doctor confidentiality. I didn't really care whether or not Marisa wanted her mother to know about her vocal problems. __Much as I hated to deal with patient's relatives, i__t suited my purpose to call her._

_I looked through the file. Marisa listed her boss as her emergency contact, but her mother as her closest relative. That gave me carte blanche. I found the number in California and punched it in. At first I thought there was no one home, but then a male voice answered, "Windermaker residence."_

_I kept it simple. "This is Dr. Gregory House at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital in New Jersey. Mrs. Windermaker's daughter..." At the last minute I used her real name. "...Marlene is under my care. She'__s__ doing well, but I wanted to inform the patient's mother that she's here."_

_"One moment, please." The man was probably a servant. Certainly there was no __personal __reaction to the fact that Marisa was in the hospital._

_It was a full two minutes before a woman came to the phone. "Hello? This is Anita Windermaker. Frederick said you were calling about Marlene?"_

_I repeated what I'd told Frederick. "She's doing well but will require further treatment. I'm informing you in case you wanted to visit her."_

_"I suppose her money has run out and you want me to foot her hospital bill." Mrs. W. sounded exasperated, as if her daughter was always running to her to cover her expenses. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea._

_"Oh, no. Her insurance covers much of her stay." I couldn't waste the call. "Do your daughters habitually call to ask for your financial help? Or is it only Marlene?"_

_"__Actually, it's usually my other daughter. The artiste." __She made it sound like she was calling her worse. "__Beverly."_

_"Has she requested money lately? I understand she's in Italy."_

_Anita sounded calmer when she corrected me. "Sicily. I think she's found herself a man, because she hasn't __called to __ask for anything for a month or two."_

_So, she knew where her daughter was and suspected more, but didn't know specifically about Molino. Time to get back to Marisa. "I'm sure Marlene would appreciate a visit more than your financial support." If Anita came to PPTH, I might persuade her to contact Beverly for me._

_There was silence for a minute. "I'll think about it. What was the name of the hospital again? I can always send a bouquet."_

_I gave her the hospital name and even the address, knowing Marisa wasn't allergic to flowers. But Anita didnt know that. "Actually, we've found that she has an allergy. Flowers wouldn't be such a good idea."_

_"Candy? Surely some chocolate would cheer her up. It always did."_

_I rolled my eyes. She was almost as bad as my parents. "Let us know if you can visit. Your daughter will be here for about a week longer." _

_"Yes. Well, thank you for calling and letting me know. I never hear from my daughters unless they want something." She was back to her annoyed self._

_The call left me feeling depressed, so I was pleasantly surprised to look up and see Jess in my doorway. Okay, I would have welcomed the visit even without the aftereffects of talking to Anita Windermaker._

_"What's wrong?" Jess' brows drew together._

_"Oh, nothing. It never fails to amaze me."_

_"What does?" She moved closer and sat on the edge of my desk._

_"__Relationships. How parents treat their children."_

_She nodded. "We've both had personal experience with that, but what brought this on?"_

_"I just got off the phone with Marisa's mother. Her first reaction __to learning that her daughter was in the hospital __was to ask whether I was calling because __she__ couldn't pay her bills." __I frowned._

_"Why did you call her? Did Marisa ask you to call?"_

_"Well, no."_

_Her eyes narrowed at me. "Are you allowed to do that? Call a patient's family without them asking?"_

_"She was listed as next of kin." I knew that wouldn't be enough for Jess. "I thought she might be able to tell me something more about Beverly."_

_"The sister."_

_"Half-sister. But Mama Windermaker is more annoyed with her than with Marisa, and claims she hasn't been in touch with her since the last time she requested money."_

_"__When was that?"_

_Leave it to Jess. It was a question I should have asked Anita, because it would give us information about when Beverly hooked up with Molino. "If she shows up, I__'__ll ask her."_

_"And what's the chance of that?" __Jess picked up my ball and tossed it from hand to hand._

_"Rather poor." I leaned back in my chair. "I need a way to lure her here."_

_"What do you know about her?"_

_"She has money. She has two daughters, and if she looks anything like Marisa, she's pretty. To tell you the truth, there's very little information available about her."_

_"There has to be something. Where'd her money come from? Is her family rich?" She put down the ball and narrowed her eyes._

_"Don't know, but I can ask Marisa about that. My impression is that her husbands left her with plenty, but I don't even know that for sure." I rubbed my chin. _

_"Maybe I should be the one to ask Marisa questions."_

_I nodded. "I've been to see her enough times for one day." I took one of Jess' hands. "Marcello has arranged a guard for her."_

_"A guard? Why?"_

_"Because we think Morgan is either fixated on her or watching her for Molino, and he's, shall we say, agitated?"_

_She stood up and pulled her hand away. "Greg, what did you do?"_

_Why did I suddenly feel guilty? "I confronted him at The Black Keys."_

_"Gregory House! I thought you weren't going to approach him alone, that you had more sense."_

_"He had no idea who I was." I bit my lip._

_Jess nodded. "A-huh!" She pursed her own lips._

_"He drove his truck into the front window of the bar." I knew I shouldn't have told her that, but as long as I was confessing._

_"Oh, no! Was anyone hurt? Were you still there?"_

_"No. It was later, but Rudy and the pianoplayer saw him and reported it to the cops. Their looking for him now."_

_"And the window?" _

_"Rudy already had it repaired." I tried to brush it off. "It was no big deal, but maybe it'll get Morgan off the streets."_

_"__I certainly hope so."_


	146. Chapter 146

__A couple of surprises (blame my Muse) that tie some things together in this chapter. But what do they mean? Where will they lead?__

__Thanks for reading. Leave a word or two if you like the chapter.__

_**Chapter 146.**_

_There was no more word on Morgan from Rudy the rest of the afternoon, and I didn't know what to make of that. After Jess left for a meeting with Nina and their staff to go over the menus for the __first party they were catering__, I sat in my office for a while, thinking about Marisa and her family._

_But there was no getting past the fact that I should talk to her about them. I grabbed my cane and strode to the elevator, hoping she was alone. It would be easier to get her to talk if Ricky weren't hovering. He said he had work to do at his office so his grandfather wouldn't be on his neck, so there was a good chance he hadn't returned._

_Marisa seemed to be asleep. She was lying back with her eyes closed when I entered her room. But the sound of the sliding door must have woken her because she sat up with a start. "Oh, Dr. House, it's you."_

_I didn't know whether she was disappointed or surprised. "Were you expecting someone else?"_

_"No. Ricky said he wouldn't be back until tomorrow, and your team members were in earlier to do some more tests. They said I passed and Dr. Wilson would be able to begin his treatment tomorrow."_

_I smirked. __"A lot happening tomorrow."_

_She nodded, but she still wasn't smiling._

_"I spoke to your mother."_

_That brought a frown. "Why'd you do that?"_

_I shrugged. "You listed her as next of kin. I thought she should know you're in the hospital."_

_"I can imagine what she said to that. Did you tell her I could pay my own bills?"_

_I smiled. She did know her mother. "Yes. But it's your sister who asks for financial help __all the time__, not you."_

_"Beverly...Beverly lives a different lifestyle. She's always liked to mingle with the rich international set. I think that's why she moved to Italy." __There was something in her eyes I couldn't read._

_"__You don't care much for your step-sister, do you?" I asked._

_"Let's just say I disapprove of her. I don't know her well enough to dislike her."_

_"And how does she feel about you?" I couldn't ask whether Beverly would send someone to watch over her, or to do her harm, could I? But if I knew whether the older woman had some kind of vendetta against her, that would tell me a lot._

_Marisa shrugged. "I guess the same applies for her. She was already seven or eight when I was born. I don't think she resented me __exactly__. I do know that she and my father got along."_

_"Whatever happened to hers?" I hadn't really thought about that before. Somewhere I'd gotten the impression he died long before Anita married Windermaker, __but maybe they divorced__._

_"Johnny?" She shrugged again. "He's still around somewhere. He wasn't a big part of her life."_

_So why did I suddenly feel it was important to follow up on him? "What was his last name? Do you know?"_

_She started to shake her head. "Something Spanish. No, Italian. I'd have to think about it."_

_"How old is Beverly?" I remembered that Marisa's DOB was April 14, 1988. "About thirty-three?"_

_"__I guess so. Why are you so interested in my sister, and her father?"_

_Instead of a direct answer, I told her, "A man I'm curious about is your sister's latest boyfriend. I don't believe in coincidences."_

_"So you're looking for some kind of connection? But how could there be?"_

_"Yeah, that's my problem. I may be grasping at straws." But I took a chance anyway. "I think I asked you about the names Molino and Locarno."_

_She nodded._

_"What about Bernini, Curci, Giordano, and __Bertoli?" I __threw out the names of most of the players __with Italian names __besides Molino and the Locarnos. __She'd said Beverly's father was named Johnny, so I__half expected her to say 'Giordano', but that wasn't the one that caught her attention._

_"Bertoli!" She smiled. "That's it!"_

_I sat __down hard in the chair at the side of her bed. Woah! Now what did that mean? But Bertoli, the one I knew, Julio's boss, wasn't named Johnny.__Or was he? I didn't think I'd ever known his first name. He'd been good to Julio, helped us get the kid, Jess and Nina back when they were kidnapped. He was connected, if only slightly to the Locarnos, and not to Carlo Molino. If he really was Beverly's biodad, how did that fit into the picture? It meant, in a way, that the threads were drawing tighter._

_"What's the matter?" Marisa's lips turned down at the ends. "Do you know Beverly's father?"_

_"I might." Unfortunately, I didn't have a picture of Bertoli to show her. "Did you ever meet him?"_

_She nodded. "He came to the house a couple of times to see her. __A tall man, well-dressed."_

_"Have you ever been to the Melting Pot? It's a restaurant, serves great fondu."_

_"No, why?"_

_"The Bertoli I know owns it. You should try it sometime after you get out of here. Maybe Ricky will take you." I was still pondering how I could find out whether my Bertoli was hers. Her description fit. It wasn't that common a name. Still, too many ifs._

_She sighed. __"I can't wait to leave. It feels like I've been here forever. Not that there haven't been benefits." She smiled._

_"Your boss is looking forward to your return. He said he'd come by to see you again tomorrow."_

_"That'll be nice. Rudy's a great guy."_

_I had to agree with her. "Dr. Wilson will let you know how long your treatment will be. Recovery will take a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, but then you'll be singing up a storm again."_

_She grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."_

_"Meanwhile, rest your voice," I told her. I slipped out and __headed for__ my office, thinking about how I might approach Bertoli. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice her at first. She stood outside my office, wringing her hands. __When I approached, her eyes narrowed. "Are you Dr. House?"_

_"Who wants to know?"_

_"My name is Beverly Windermaker. I understand you're in charge of my sister's case?"_

_"Was." I studied her. So this was the half-sister. Older, certainly, but just as pretty._

_"What? She's not..." She didn't finish the sentence._

_"No, nothing like that. Another doctor will be treating her now that my team has taken care of a simple case of allergic reaction."_

_Her shoulders relaxed. "I'm not sure I should see her."_

_"Then why are you here rather than with your boyfriend in Palermo."_

_"How did you know about Carlo?" She was frowning again._

_"Oh, I have my ways. Come inside and we can talk. Then you can decide whether it's prudent to see Marlene." I pushed open the door to my office._

_Once we were both seated, Beverly began to fidget with her hands. "Marlene and I aren't close."_

_I nodded. _

_"But she's still my little sister. I worry about her."_

_I tapped a pen on my desk. "Is that why you had Carlo tell Mike Morgan to watch over her?"_

_"Who's Mike Morgan?" She clearly didn't know the name._

_"A convict with at least two vehicular manslaughter counts against him. He works as a truck driver for Bernini Fruit Company." I watched for her reaction to that._

_"Is that Giancarlo's company?"_

_I smirked. "You tell me. I think Molino is the actual owner." I put the pen down. "You never answered my question. Why are you here, in New Jersey?"_

_"I told you. I worry about my sister."_

_"Why don't you have your biodad take care of that?"_

_"Johnny?" She shrugged. "He has his own problems." She sighed. "Do you know my father?"_

_"Good question, and one I'm curious about." I stared at her as something clicked into place. "Did he tell you to get close to Molino?" I could imagine Bertoli doing his own investigation of the man. "Because of Julio Curci?"_

_Her eyes widened. "How did you know?"_

_My turn to shrug. "It's what I'd do." __I hadn't seen or heard from Bertoli in weeks it seemed. I grinned. "I'll have to talk to him about what he's learned, but I expect you can tell me anything you told him."_

_"Why should I?" She stood. "Look, I don't know you, and I certainly don't know whether I can trust you. I'm only here because my sister is in this hospital, and I'm worried about her."_

_Time to throw out some more info. __"Did you know that she and Ricky Locarno have become close?"_

_"Ricky?" __Her eyes narrowed.__ "Is he related to Tony?"_

_"His grandson."_

_She seemed to mull th__at__ over. __"How did she meet him?"_

_"I introduced them. That was before I knew about you. I still don't know what your part __is __in this, although I have a better idea now." I blew a breath out between my half-closed lips. "Sit down. I'm not going to bite." I grimaced. "I called your mother earlier. She's not too pleased with either of you."_

_Beverly rolled her eyes. __"My mother has her own agenda. I know she's fed up with my requests for funds, but she acts as if I'm asking for her money."_

_"You're not?"_

_"No." __She tapped her chest.__ "It's my trust fund from my step-dad. It's my money. She's just the trustee."_

_"Then why is she so annoyed with you?"_

_"I told you. She has her own agenda. Plus, she thought he'd leave it all to her, but instead he left the lion's share to me and Marlene. __I think that still rankles for her.__"_

_"It s__eems__ like she was living a luxurious life. Where'd she get the loot for that?"_

_Bev smirked. "Good question."_

_So, she was as annoyed with her mother as her mother __was__ with her. __I was beginning to like this woman, maybe even more than her sister. _

_"__Rather than visit Marisa, I mean Marlene, she said she'd send flowers or chocolate."_

_She rolled her eyes. __"That's our mother. Why did you call my sister Marisa?"_

_"You didn't know that's the name she's using for her singing career?" I countered._

_"Oh, yes, that's right." She smiled. "Poor kid. She wanted to be an opera star, you know, but Mother squelched that idea early on. Wouldn't pay for lessons. I think it was her high school choral teacher who thought she should apply to Julliard, but Mother wouldn't hear of it."_

_"I gather she has, or rather had, a great voice."_

_"She did. So, whatever's wrong with her is affecting her voice?"_

_"Nodules on her vocal cords. But we're on it." I was curious about a few things, so I suggested, "As long as you're here, you should visit her."_

_Bev shook her head. "I'm not sure she'd be happy to see me."_

_"The only way you'll know for sure is if you do."_

_She took a deep breath and let it out. "Alright. I did come all this way, might as well let her know I care."_

_I smiled as I rose. "No time like the present."_


	147. Chapter 147

__So what will happen when the half-sisters meet?__

__Thanks for reading. Leave a word or two if you like the chapter.__

_**Chapter 147.**_

_We headed to Marisa's room. I __was__ spending more time there than in my office. I hoped Cuddy noticed how much attention I was giving my patient. That should count for something, although I hadn't a clue what. __Maybe fewer clinic hours? Not!_

_Wilson sat where I'd been sitting not long before. He looked our way when I slid the door open._

_Marisa gasped. "Beverly!"_

_"Hi, Sis. Heard you were laid up for a while and thought I'd come see for myself." Beverly's face was unreadable __as she studied her__._

_Not so her sister's. Marisa looked both puzzled and pleased. "I thought you were in Italy."_

_"I was." Bev walked closer. "Are the doctors here taking good care of you?"_

_Marisa nodded. "Dr. Wilson was explaining again what the treatment will be."_

_Bev __shifted her gaze to__ Wilson. "Will __i__t restore her voice? __It__ sounds so...scratchy, __even when she's just speaking__."_

_"__It should." His eyes flicked my way. _

_I wasn't going to explain anything, not if no one asked me to. I'd let Bev handle it. She could._

_"__That's good news.__" She smiled at her sister_

_Marisa nodded. __"__I'm already b__etter __than I was__. Did Dr. House tell you about my allergy attack? Would you believe I'm allergic to cinnamon?"_

_"Cinnamon? That's strange. You used to love cinnamon toast when you were a kid."_

_"__Yes I did." __Her eyes narrowed as her smile broadened.__ "Amazing you remembered that."_

_"Why is it so amazing? Who made it for you? It certainly wasn't Mom." __Bev rolled her eyes._

_Marisa laughed. "So true." She took Bev's hand. "You were good to me, weren't you? I don't think I ever thanked you."_

_"You were such a cute kid, better than a doll because you were always willing to play any games I wanted to play."_

_While the sisters reminisced, Wilson pulled me aside and finally asked, "What's she doing here? Did you call her?"_

_I shook my head. "You heard her. She just showed up in my office, asking questions about what we were doing for Marlene."_

_"Marlene? Oh, you mean Marisa." He glanced at them. The sisters were laughing. Bev sat in the bedside chair. "So what do you make of her? Beverly I mean."_

_"She's had people keeping an eye on Marisa while she did her own investigation of Molino, or rather, checked him out for her biodad."_

_His eyes narrowed and his mouth opened slightly._

_I smirked. "Pay attention. Bev's biodad is Bertoli, or at least I think so, and he sent her to Palermo since she was nearby. I don't know yet what she found out, but I expect she knows a lot of Molino's secrets."_

_His face cleared and he nodded._

_Bev turned and asked him, "Is there anything I can do to help my sister?"_

_"__Just stick around. She's needs a friend. She seems to like you." _

_So, Wilson noticed, too. I was as amazed as anyone about that. My impression before Beverly showed up was that Marisa had no respect for her sister, but perhaps that was her __defensive __way of dealing with the fact that Bev didn't seem interested in her._

_She nodded. "__Would you like that Marlene?"_

_"Absolutely." Marisa grinned at her and squeezed her hand. "I'm glad you came."_

_"__I have a few things to do this afternoon but __I'll be back tonight__.__" Marlene rose and she and I left the room together. __"I'm surprised by the reception I got from her. Happy about it, but still surprised. Okay, I can stay in New Jersey for a while."_

_"Where did you tell Molino you were going?" I asked __as we walked to the elevator__._

_"We had a fight." She smirked. "One I orchestrated so I could leave for a while."_

_I didn't hide my smile._

_"I g__oing to__ drop in on my dad, let him know I'm here."_

_That was the main reason for her trip, of course. __"And report whatever you found out about Molino's operations?"_

_"You're curious, aren't you?" __The elevator arrived and we got on. She pushed the button for the lobby.__ "If he says it's alright, I'll tell you when I visit Marlene later today."_

_"I might not be here. You can call me, or better yet, I'll go with you."_

_"What, now?" __Her brows came together._

_"Sure. Why not?"_

_"Don't you have doctor things to do?" __She studied my face._

_"I'm leaving your sister in Dr. Wilson's capable hands. And my team has my number if we're given another patient." __We arrived at the ground floor and I followed her out of the elevator. "I have an urge for some fondu."_

_She snickered. "Separate cars?"_

_"Yeah. That's probably best. __Do you know where his restaurant is?__" _

_She nodded. "See you there."_

_I watched her stride toward the visitor's lot. Now that was some woman. __I could see how she could charm Carlos Molino so quickly._

_I pulled into the lot at the Melting Pot and parked right next to Bev. It was too early for there to be many customers. We entered the restaurant together. Bertoli was in the front of the house, talking to the hostess. I did a double take. It was Tina Locarno._

_Bertoli beamed when he saw us, and I was certain it wasn't me he was so happy to see._

_"Beverly! When did you arrive in town." __He pulled her into a big bear hug._

_Tina whispered to me, "Who's she?"_

_"His daughter, and also my patient's sister. Step-sister." She didn't have to know that Marisa wasn't my patient anymore. While Bertoli __talked to__ Bev, I continued my conversation with Tina. "So how long have you been working here?"_

_The young woman grinned. "Julio asked Mr. Bertoli to give me a part-time job. You know, after school."_

_"You could have gotten work with your family."_

_"I know, but this way I get to spend more time with Julio." She winked at me. "__And it might be safer."_

_Bertoli had finally noticed me. "Dr. House, what are you doing with my daughter?"_

_"She stopped at the hospital to see her step-sister. I decided to accompany her here so she could tell us both what she'd learned about Molino."_

_Tina spoke up. "What does she know about him? Does she know why he's been targeting my family?"_

_I introduced her, "Bev, this is Tina Locarno."_

_She__ smiled at the younger woman. "I'm afraid that's one thing I couldn't find out." She narrowed her eyes. "He was most forthcoming about a number of other things, but never __mentioned__your family__, and there was no way I could ask him __without telling him why I was curious__."_

_Tina nodded. "So, it's still a mystery. What did you find out?" _

_She hesitated, then looked at her father._

_"Go ahead. You can tell them whatever you were going to tell me." Bertoli ushered us, even Tina to a nearby table to sit down. _

_"He wasn't as upset over his wife's death as I thought he'd be."_

_I nodded. "Probably because he __ordered__ it."_

_"Do you really think he had her killed just because she couldn't have a child?" Bev tilted her head as she looked at me._

_I shook my head. __"She wasn't the one who couldn't."_

_Her eyes widened. "But that's not what he said."_

_"Could it be that's what she told him?" Bertoli asked._

_"But why would she?" Tina shook her head._

_"Let's leave that enigma for a moment. Bev, what else did you learn? Did he tell you anything about his operations here in the States?"_

_"Well, I didn't know about that fruit company you mentioned."_

_"What fruit company?" Bertoli asked._

_"__Bernini Fruit. Mike Morgan drives for them," I told him._

_He sighed. "Big guy? Late thirties, early forties?"_

_I nodded. "That's the one. Do you get your fruit from them, too?"_

_"Yeah. I wonder who else does and how it fits in with anything else." He turned to his daughter. "What businesses did he mention?"_

_"There's two auto shops. I think they do detailing and customization."_

_"Yes, we've checked them out. That's where Julio worked when he first came to the states." I wondered why he'd mention them but not the fruit company. "Did he say anything about Julio or Giancarlo?"_

_"He mentioned once that he was disappointed in Julio, that he hadn't done what he was asked and was reluctant to return to Palermo, but Carlo wouldn't hurt him because he was family. I saw Giancarlo leaving his office __once__." She frowned. "Carlo never told me why he sent him here, but I knew Giancarlo's reputation, and knew it wasn't anything good."_

_I nodded. "It would seem he sent Giancarlo to finish what Julio was s__upposed__ to do."_

_"Carry out a vendetta against my family." Tina's chin quivered. "I'm glad my brother __wasn't hurt, __and __that he and my__ uncle have taken precautions against that, but I __still __don't feel __completely__ safe."_

_"__I think we can protect you here." Bertoli smiled at her._

_Bev watched their interaction Her frown didn't deepen, but it didn't go away either. "I guess that's all I learned. It's not much, I know."_

_Bertoli took her hand. "I don't want you to go back there. If I realized what lengths Molino would go to, I wouldn't have asked you to get close to him."_

_I puzzled over that. He'd sent her after the kidnapping incident, so he knew Molino was dangerous. Then again, we didn't know at the time that Molino was behind it. I blinked as a thought came to me. "Did you know he __was behind the abduction of __Julio, Jess and Nina? I mean when it happened?"_

_Bertoli shook his head. "I knew it was possible, but couldn't be sure." He glanced at his daughter with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I used you."_

_She smiled at him. "You know I'd do whatever you asked of me."_

_"So, you love both your dads? But not your mother?" I asked her. I didn't mean it to come out as an accusation._

_She lifted her chin and stared at me. "Yes. Dad's a good man, and so was my step-father. You talked to my mother. Even a short conversation told you what she__'__s like."_

_I nodded. _

_"Why'd you talk to Anita?" Bertoli asked._

_"I called to tell her about her other daughter. __Her reaction was...strange, I guess you'd call it.__"_

_"Beverly said earlier __Marlene__'s in the hospital. What's wrong?"_

_"You know she's a singer, don't you? A combination of over-straining her voice and bad self-treatment led to nodules on her vocal cords. And that was further complicated by an allergic reaction."_

_"But she'll be alright?" he asked._

_"Yes. She'll be fine before long."_

_"I was worried about her, but I suppose I shouldn't have been. __I knew she was in your hospital.__"_

_"Wait, is that the patient that Ricky's so gaga about?" Tina asked._

_"One and the same."_

_"And she's your step-sister?" she asked Bev._

_"__Yes. Is your brother really enamored with her?"_

_"Totally. She's all he talks about!" _

_"How did he meet her?" Bev asked._

_"That one's on me. I had no idea how she was connected to everything, but she was distracting my staff from...things." I wasn't going to reveal my motives. _

_"And I'm glad you did." Tina grinned. "It's good to see him so happy."_


	148. Chapter 148

__We're not through with surprising connections, but first House needs to eat.__

__Thanks for reading. Leave a word or two if you like the chapter.__

_**Chapter 148.**_

_When I left The Melting Pot, I had more answers, but also more questions. It was too late to return to the hospital, so I drove home, hoping I could bounce some things off Jess._

_But she wasn't there. I knew she'd met earlier with her sister and their staff. I hoped there were no glitches this close to their first gig. So many things could go wrong with a catering operation._

_I sat down at my piano. Perhaps playing some music would make all the threads harmonize, but all I got was a goulash of incompatible ideas. My fingers crashed on the keys and I stood. I was pouring some bourbon when Jess finally came through the door._

_"What a day! You wouldn't believe what happened." __Her hands flew up in the air._

_"So, tell me already. I'm waiting with baited breath." __I kept the accompanying eyeroll to a minimum._

_"No need to get snarky. So, you know the company that we ordered the extra freezer from? The__y__ never showed up, and when we called, their phone was disconnected. The deposit alone was a chunk of __change__. I don't know if we have any recourse, __either__. Anyway, we called another place, but they can't deliver a freezer until Friday afternoon."_

_"__The party isn't until Saturday."_

_"I know, but we need room to store the food that's delivered before then." She dropped down on the sofa like a rock. "Nina and I don't know __what we'll do."_

_"Can't the rest__aurant supplying the food hold it until you have a freezer?" It didn't sound like such a problem to me._

_"We asked, but Maison Phillipe needs__ room for the food for the restauran__t. __We can squeeze more into the freezer we have, but it's a big party and there's tons of food. This is a disaster!"_

_I'd never seen her __so frazzled__. "We can put some in our freezer."_

_"That's not much space, and besides, it's full of ice cream."_

_I shrugged. "So, we'll eat it and make room. And then there's Nina's freezer and Wilson's. Jess, we'll find a way."_

_She looked at me, __her__ eyes brimming with tears and nodded. "I don't know what I'd do without you."_

_No woman had ever said that to me. It left me speechless. Finally, I swallowed. "Let's get started on that ice cream now. It'll make you feel better."_

_A fleeting, wan smile was her only reply._

_I kissed her lightly and went to get us both bowls of chocolate goodness, covered liberally with syrup and a spritz of whipped cream._

_We sat side-by-side on the couch, spooning the stuff into our mouths. My mind should have been on other suggestions for Jess, but it strayed to Marisa and her sister. "Beverly showed up today," I said between spoonfuls._

_"Marisa's sister? What's she doing here? What did she want?"_

_"I'm glad you're sitting down, because you're in for a shock or two." _

_She stopped eating and narrowed her eyes._

_"The sisters are closer than I thought. Bev's very protective of Marisa."_

_"Well, that's not much of a surprise, __since she's older__. But I still don't understand why she hooked up with Molino."_

_"Bertoli." _

_"Huh?"_

_"Beverly's biodad is Bertoli, and he asked her to get the goods on Molino."_

_"Oh. Oh!" Her eyes went wide and she finally smiled. "__That explains a lot. So what did she find out?" Her worries about the freezer faded as her curiosity took over._

_I told her what Bev reported to her father and me. She nodded a few times as if it was beginning to make sense._

_"So, Francesca took the blame for their inability to have a child?" __She frowned.__ "Boy, did that backfire!"_

_"Oh, and Tina's now working as a hostess at The Melting Pot."_

_Jess grinned. "That's great." Then she got that speculative look in her eyes. "I wonder if Bertoli has extra space in his freezers." So, her worries weren't buried that far._

_I shrugged. "Call and ask him. And while you're at it, how about your uncle?"_

_She nodded as she got up and went to the land phone._

_I listened to her and watched her face as she spoke to each of them. Based on her smile and relaxed shoulders, they were both willing to help her out. _

_She returned to the couch. "Success."_

_"Yeah, I could tell." I slipped an arm around her._

_"__And they both asked when we're coming in for dinner."_

_"No time like the present." I was already salivating._

_Jess snickered. "__You just stuffed your face with ice cream." She patted my stomach. "And your belly. __Okay. I don't feel like cooking."_

_I could have asked whether she ever did, but knew the answer. "So, Italian or fondu?"_

_"I haven't seen my uncle in a while, although I'd like to meet this Beverly."_

_"She was going to visit Marisa again tonight, so I doubt she's still with Bertoli. I'm sure you'll meet her while she's in town." I didn't know how long that would be._

_"Italian it is, then." She stood and held out a hand to me._

_While we drove to Uncle Johnny's restaurant, she peppered me with questions about Marisa's sister._

_"She's as pretty as my former patient but older and more sophisticated. She has a quality I can't explain, a little like you, actually." From the corner of my eye, I saw her raise an eyebrow._

_"__Sounds like you were impressed with her."_

_I smirked. "Ya think? Yeah. She's impressive, but she's not you." I didn't think she was jealous, but you never knew with women._

_Jess was quiet for the rest of the trip. __W__hen we __reached__ the restaurant parking lot __and got out__, she took my hand and squeezed it._

_Johnny was standing at a table not far from the entrance when we walked through the door, but when he saw us, he came over with a big grin on his face. "When I said you should come by soon, I didn't expect you tonight."_

_"We were hungry." It was the truth._

_He chuckled and kissed his niece__'__s cheek. Then he had the hostess take us to a table. _

_I perused the menu, but I knew already what I wanted to eat, the __veal Marsala__. _

_Jess took a little longer to decide. "Everything looks so good."_

_"That's because you're __famished__despite your ice cream appetizer__. You always like the __chicken piccata __here__."_

_"Yes, but __I'm in the mood for something with a tomatoey sauce." Her mouth twisted into a quirky smile. "Either the lasagne or the ravioli. Or maybe the cacciatore."_

_I rolled my eyes and sighed, as our waiter poured ice water and placed a basket of focaccia and crusty bread on the table, then poured olive oil over a plate of herbs._

_"What would you like to drink?" he asked._

_I ordered wine, and Jess nodded, then sipped her water. He went off to get the vino. When he returned, we placed our orders. Jess had finally decided on chicken pizzaiola._

_Of course, Johnny came over to make sure we were being treated well._

_I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions. "Where do you buy the fruit for your restaurant?"_

_"Fruit?" He seemed to be confused by the question. "You forget, I have my own fruit company."_

_I had forgotten. That was how he got started when he first came to the states. "__Ever heard of Bernini Fruit?"_

_"Yes. They haven't been on the scene for long, but have taken some business from my company and built up a sizable clientele. Why do you ask?"_

_"We think Molino owns __it__. His thug, Giancarlo __Bernini__, lent his name to the company." I let him digest that._

_His initial astonishment morphed into growing acceptance._

_Just in time for me to drop the last piece of information. "One of the drivers for Bernini Fruit is none other than Mike Morgan."_

_"The same one who killed Jess' mother?" He looked at her with a sadness I hadn't expected. _

_"And Molino's wife, probably Lucy Locarno, and __recently he __attempted to kill Ellie."_

_He let out a whistle and sat down hard in a nearby chair. "You're sure?"_

_"I saw him at a piano bar soon after he made a delivery. I'm afraid I was a bit confrontational and now he seems to be, as they say, in the wind."_

_"The police are after him for driving into the front window of the bar in retaliation for what Greg said," Jess told her uncle._

_"__I shouldn't be surprised by any of this, but I am."_

_Our food arrived, piping hot and smelling fantastic. __I picked up my fork. __"But enough of talk about Molino and the web of intrigue around him."_

_Johnny nodded and stood again. "I'll leave you to your dinner."_

_I was happy to dig in. Not so Jess. "Uncle Johnny, before you go, have you talked to my father lately?"_

_"__He was here for lunch yesterday, mostly to pump me about suppliers. I guess he's serious about starting his own restaurant."_

_I swallowed __a__ mouthful of veal before saying, "I hope he'll be getting his fruit from you. All we'd need would be for him to contract with Bernini."_

_"I don't think he's gotten that far in his thinking. He was more concerned about linens and tableware."_

_"__He wouldn't happen to have a freezer he can spare?" Jess asked, and Johnny and I laughed. _

_Johnny was called away to one of the other tables and we continued eating. Based on her orgasmic murmurs, Jess was happy with her dinner choice._

_We were almost finished when I looked up and saw two people I hadn't expected to see together, let alone in this restaurant, Marcello Locarno and Beverly Bertoli Windermaker._

_Jess must have seen my look of surprise, because she turned around. She smiled at the sight of Marcello and motioned him over. _

_"__We didn't expect to see you two here tonight." Marcello grinned._

_"We could say the same." Jess was talking to Marcello, but studying Bev._

_"I thought you were going to visit your sister." My eyes were on both women so I saw when Jess realized this was Beverly._

_"Greg's not so good on introductions." She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Jess Giordano and you must be Beverly."_

_Bev took it and smiled back. "Nice to meet you."_

_"I didn't realize you two knew each other." This time I looked at Marcello. _

_"Oh, Bev and I go way back."_

_Another connection I didn't know of. So how did this piece fit into the puzzle?_

_"We were just finishing or we'd ask you to join us." Jess pointed to her empty plate._

_But I wanted to hear more about how they knew each other. "Nonsense. We still have to have des__s__ert." I pointed to the chairs at an empty neighboring table. "Pull up a seat."_

_While they did, Jess whispered to me, "We started with des__s__ert at home."_

_"I thought that was an appetizer. I love the zabaglione here."_

_Our waiter showed up with menus, water, tableware and another basket of bread for the latecomers, then took their drink orders._

_ Bev quickly scanned the menu. "What did you have? Everything sounds wonderful."_

_We gave her a rundown of what we'd had and our favorites from past visits to the restaurant._

_"Sounds like you come here often." She looked back at the menu. "I guess I'll have the chicken piccata with a bowl of minestrone before."_

_Uncle Johnny took that moment to appear again. I wondered if he, too, knew Bev, but he asked __Jess__, "Are these two friends of yours? Welcome to my restaurant."_

_"Uncle Johnny, this is Marcello Locarno and Beverly Windermaker. Marcello's company found us the space for our business, and Beverly..." Jess stopped, unsure of what to say about her._


	149. Chapter 149

_**Chapter 149. **_

_"Bev __is__ Bertoli's daughter." __I didn't bother to bring up my patient, since __Johnny didn't know or care about __her__. "She's been doing her own investigation of Molino."_

_Bev smirked. "What Dr. House means is that I've been in Palermo, getting close to Carlo, and trying to find out what he's up to."_

_"__Unfortunately, she hasn't learned why he's targeting my family." Marcello took her hand. "But we're taking precautions to protect ourselves."_

_Johnny nodded. "That's good." _

_The waiter appeared with their drinks and took their dinner orders and ours for des__s__ert, then slipped away._

_"You're Jess and Nina's uncle?" Marcello asked. "And this is your restaurant." He looked around. "Very nice."_

_Johnny shrugged. "I try."_

_"Don't be so modest. It's one of the best Italian restaurants in town. That's why we asked you to supply __food for__ our catering company, not because you're family." Jess beamed._

_"Is that what you do?" Bev asked. "Run a catering operation?"_

_"Yes, with my sister, Nina. Actually, our first party is this coming Saturday, but we already have half a dozen events lined up."_

_Johnny was called away again, but promised to return and check on us later. __The waiter brought __Bev and Marcello's__ soups. _

_"So, you were going to tell us how you know each other," I said to fill the silence that followed his departure._

_Marcello swallowed a spoonful of vegetables. __"We were? It's not a secret. My father introduced us. He thought we'd make a good match, but we each had other ideas. At least then."_

_"Maybe he was right after all." Bev squeezed his hand and smiled at him. _

_I could see my plan to have him fall for Cuddy disappear before my eyes. Oh, well, best laid plans and all that. "__That alone could give Carlo a reason to despise the Locarnos."_

_Bev shook her head. "He doesn't know, and doesn't have to."_

_"We plan to keep our relationship under wraps for a while." __He gave Bev a half smile._

_"Yet here you both are, out in public together, where anyone can see." __I didn't roll my eyes, but I was tempted._

_They exchanged looks. It was Bev who replied. "We didn't think anyone we __k__new would be here."_

_"And look who you ran into!"_

_"House, you won't say anything __to anyone__, will you?" Marcello pleaded._

_I worked my mouth. Of course, I wouldn't, but what could I demand to keep my mouth shut? "You still didn't tell me __what happened when__ you two met."_

_Jess snickered, although I could tell it wasn't what she expected me to say._

_"That's it? Why do you want to know that?" Marcello must have expected something else too._

_Bev didn't hesitate. "__As we said, we didn't hit it off when his father introduced us, but then w__e met at his sister-in-law__'__s funeral."_

_"What were you doing there?" Now I was the surprised one. "You didn't know any of the __other __Locarnos, did you?"_

_"No, I was there to deliver flowers. I had a part-time job at a florists, and was going to school part-time, too."_

_"I offered to help her carry the arrangements from her truck. Some of them were rather large and heavy." Marcello smiled at her, probably picturing the scene._

_Bev nodded. "There were lots of flowers. I don't think I ever saw so many then or since. Marcello and I struck up a conversation. I could tell how much Lucy's death affected him."_

_"Bev was very understanding."_

_"It wasn't long after my father died. My step-dad. So I knew what grief felt like. I could see it in Marcello's eyes." __She focused on those eyes now._

_"She gave me her phone number, told me to call anytime to talk." He looked at her with a mixture of gratitude and affection. "She let me cry on her shoulder a number of times. But eventually we each had other demands on our time, and we lost touch __again__."_

_"So it wasn't anything romantic at the time?" Jess asked._

_"__Well, no, not really." Bev twisted her napkin. "I wished it would have been, but we were being pulled in different directions. Marcello's father was turning more and more of the real estate business __over __to him, and I finally escaped my mother for Europe where I could study art __history __without her interference. __My biological father paid my way." She shrugged. "Maybe he felt the need to compete with the trust fund my step-dad set up for me."_

_"__If he's been paying your way, why do you have to request your trust fund money from your mother?"_

_She shrugged. "There've been times when Johnny hasn't had it to give me, and lately we didn't want anyone to know the connection between us."_

_"But now that you're both here in New Jersey..." Jess let it dangle._

_Marcello grinned. "With Ricky doing his share at the agency, I'm not under the same pressure I once was. I'm hoping Bev and I can make up for some lost time." __His gaze shifted to her. "Third time might be the charm."_

_They were saved from going into any detail by the arrival of our food. The aroma of their dinners wafting across the table made me want to order another portion, but instead contented myself with my des__s__ert. And a few forkfuls of Jess'._

_I ate slowly to prolong the time we spent with them, not that I expected to learn any more, and frankly, I didn't care all that much about their relationship except for the impact it would have on Cuddy._

_Bev finally dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter and wiped her mouth, then patted her stomach. "That was a better meal than I had the entire time I was in Italy." __She hadn't left much__. _

_"I told you the food was great here." Marcello chuckled, stabbing the last __bit of chicken from her plate._

_I nudged Jess. "See, I'm not the only guy who finishes his date's food for her."_

_Jess giggled. "Bev, are you planning on staying in town, then?"_

_She stared at Marcello as if the answer was written on his face._

_"I hope she does," he answered for her. "Bev, there's no reason for you to return to Palermo, is there?"_

_"No, but..." She compressed her lips. "You know Carlo's a very jealous man, and even though we had a fight before I left, I don't know what he'll do about it."_

_"Relax. Remember, I have bodyguards protecting me from him. They'll protect you, too."_

_"But won't that tell him that you and I are..., well, you know?" She frowned. "That'll give him more reason to be jealous and to come after your family."_

_"I don't think he needs a reason." I shook my head. "At least, I haven't come up with one yet."_

_Marcello grimaced. "Even my father seems to be at a loss about that. Bev, are you sure he never mentioned us or even his animosity toward our family?"_

_"No, never." __She looked down, then back up into his eyes. "He was too obsessed with a deal he was working on. But it didn't involve any of his operations in the States. Something about grapes and wine, and a wine-making family in France, the Fouchards."_

_"That name means nothing to me."_

_"My dad said the same thing when I told him." She put her hand on Marcello's. "Guess I didn't do so well as a spy." She smiled slightly and sighed. "I won't go back there, but I think we should stay away from each other for a while, until we see whether Carlo tries to contact me."_

_"Yes, that may be best. I can arrange protection for you, separate from the guys shadowing me."_

_"I can testify that they're very good. Stealthy." I told them how I hadn't spotted the two men guarding Ricky._

_"And speaking of your nephew, I think it's time I left to see my sister." __Bev wiped nonexistent sauce off her mouth._

_"We can take you," Jess offered. "That way no one will see you with Marcello."_

_She looked at him with one eyebrow raised. When he nodded, she turned back to Jess. "Thank you."_

_I wondered what Jess was up to, but thought she might just want to spend more time getting to know Bev. It wasn't until the three of us were in the car that I found out._

_"I hope this is not a plan of Carlo's to find out what we all know of his operations."_

_Bev was silent for a full minute. "Jess, Carlo Molino is a despicable man with no respect for anyone else. Every minute I spent with him, I felt like throwing up. I'm so glad to be back here with my sister and my father, yes, and with Marcello."_

_Jess' face softened. "I'm sorry, but I had to know whether we could trust you. Molino's done some awful things, including having me and my sister kidnapped."_

_"It's alright. I understand. I'm glad you weren't hurt. Tell me a little more about your catering operation."_

_Jess turned in her seat to face Bev. __"Our first party is this coming weekend. We're getting the food from a French restaurant in Princeton, and we're pretty much set, although some of the planning has been a hassle."_

_"I wish you well with it."_

_"Thanks." Jess smiled. "That was how we met Marcello, actually. Nina and I went to his agency to find a base of operations. His nephew found us __the__ perfect property."_

_I pulled up in front of the hospital. Before __Bev__ got out, __she__ said, "I hope I'll see you both again soon. Thanks for the ride."_

_"See you soon," Jess repeated. I just nodded. _

_As __Bev__ entered PPTH, __we __drove away. "So, what did you think of her?" I asked Jess._

_"I like her, and I can see why you do. She doesn't pull her punches, does she? And yet..."_

_"And yet what?" _

_"__She seemed to give me an honest answer when I asked her about working for Molino. Maybe being around you has made me skeptical." She shook her head. "I don't know. She's holding something back."_

_I'd accepted everything __Bev had__ said. Was I losing my edge? Did Jess have a point? Or was she jealous of Bev for some reason? "If she is, we'll find out what she's withholding in time. Meanwhile, I'll keep an eye on her."_

_Jess gave me a strange look including an open mouth frown, then she shrugged. "I suppose I'm imagining things, tired as I am."_

_"Too tired for some dessert?"_

_"__A third one?" __She laughed. "I suppose I can summon up enough energy for a little something something." She showed me exactly what she meant when we got home._

_When we finally went to sleep, I fell into a deep slumber for a few hours, but woke in the very early morning with some new ideas to pursue. I thought about the best approach. Knowing what I did, as the pieces fell into place, there w__ere only a few__ logical route__s__ to take to get to the final piece of the puzzle and the answers I'd been seeking. _

_I slipped out of bed, doing my best not to wake Jess. __I walked barefoot to the bathroom, equipped with the pad and pen from the bedside table. Sitting on the throne, I listed the sequence of what I had to do, as well as what I'd ask others to help me with. Task one was to find Mike Morgan. I cringed realizing I might have forced him into hiding, making that much harder than it could have been. Once we had him where we could question him, we'd know which of two steps would be next. __Then again, finding him might have to wait._

_By the time I was through jotting down my plan, I had a __list__ that looked __more __like a __decision tree with too many branches, but if we followed it, we'd come to the conclusion we needed._


	150. Chapter 150

_Posting early today before we go off to a St. Patrick's Day party, and then later to meet our book club at the art theater downtown. They're showing a movie based on the book we read this month, Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep._

_**Chapter 150.**_

_When I came out of the bathroom, Jess was sitting up in bed. "Is there something wrong?"_

_"No. I just had too many ideas __wander__ing through my mind. Had to jot them down to keep 'em from floating away before I could act on them." __I'd rearranged them a few times, but they were all still there._

_Her eyes narrowed with interest. "What kind of ideas?"_

_I ticked them off on my fingers without referring to the pad in my hand. "One, Bev might have some info about Molino that she doesn't think is important enough to share, but could cast some light on his actions. Two, the interrelationships of the players here can't all be coincidence." _

_"But most of those have been explained away."_

_"I notice you said most." Smirking at her, I tapped the pad with my pen. "Three, you need a fruit supplier."_

_"I do?"_

_"You do now."_

_"But we plan to get our fruit from Uncle Johnny's company. What's he gonna think if we get it from Bernini?"_

_"That we're looking into his rival, and for good reasons, most of which he already knows."_

_She shook her head. "Can't do it. Besides, __we were__ the one__s__ Molino's thugs kidnapped. No, but I have another idea." She smiled. It was that devious look she sometimes got when she had a plan she knew I'd love. "You're going to flip for this one."_

_"I don't flip, not for anything."_

_"Okay, at least you'll like it. My father will need fruit for his new restaurant, right? And HE wouldn't go to Johnny for it, even if they've smoothed __over __their differences somewhat."_

_"So we send him to Bernini." __The idea had merit._

_"Right. What do you think?"_

_"You'd put your father in that precarious position?"_

_She got a little huffy. "You'd put me in it." _

_I held up my hands, but she was right. "Okay. Yeah. __I__t does sound like a workable plan."_

_"Admit it. It's brilliant. Just because you didn't think of it..." __She slid out of bed and reached for the pad. "Anyway, so what's four?"_

_"__Four?"_

_"You were enumerating your ideas when I interrupted with mine. What was your fourth?"_

_"Oh, yeah, well technically, since you objected to my third, and replaced it with your own, this becomes my new third. Johnny makes a play to buy Bernini."_

_"You're kidding!" She glared at me. "Why does my family have to be such a big part of your plans? What did Molino ever do to us?"_

_"Other than have your mother killed? And you and Nina kidnapped?"_

_"Since we're being technical __here__, Molino didn't have my mother killed. That was all on Mike Morgan. Why, I bet they didn't meet until after Morgan came out of prison."_

_"So, what about the kidnapping?"_

_"My sister and I were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Honestly, there's no real connection between Carlo Molino and the Giordano family and I'd like to keep it that way."_

_"Then why did you suggest that your father should buy fruit from Bernini?" We weren't really arguing, but it sure felt as if we were, and I didn't like it one bit. "Okay. We'll drop any Giordano-Molino involvement. Which leaves us with only Bev and the existing relationships among everyone else."_

_She nodded slowly, calming down. "So we find out what else Bev knows that she doesn't realize she knows?"_

_"And we find out which of the relationships are important, and which are only incidental."_

_"I'm sure you've already diagrammed them."_

_"Yes. And it still comes down to the question of why Molino is out to get the Locarnos, and why they were unaware of it until the attacks began."_

_"Could it have something to do with Lucy?" __Her eyebrows scrunched together._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Well, to me the connection between the two families began after her death, but if Morgan killed her under Molino's orders, that might tell us something."_

_"And how do we find out?"_

_"If only we could get Morgan to talk, but we don't know where he is, and if we did, he'd never tell us anything."_

_"Especially not me, not after I confronted him at The Black Keys. __But that would have been my number five, or is it four?__"_

_"__I wonder..." She got the misty-eyed look she sometimes got when she was thinking through something before telling me. "No, that will never work."_

_"What won't?" I was curious now._

_She winced. "Having Bev try to find him and talk to him. I'd suggest her sister, because he'd know her from the piano bar, but she's still in the hospital. But how could Bev find him?"_

_"Through Giancarlo." I wasn't sure I liked the idea, but it might be the best yet. "Giancarlo knows her as Molino's girlfriend."_

_"Right. Except, if he's in contact with his boss, he might know they had a fight."_

_That was possible, but not probable. "Would Carlo tell his thug that his personal life had taken a turn for the worse?"_

_"Only if he sent Giancarlo after Bev in retaliation."_

_We sat on the edge of the bed, both frowning. __I'd worried about that before, and so had Marcello. "Let's hold that thought while we try something else."_

_"What else can we do?" _

_"I want to dig into Lucy's death a little more, confirm that Morgan was the one who rammed her car. Marcello or Ricky might know something we don't about that."_

_"What about Tina?"_

_"She was just a little kid at the time. She's only about nineteen now."_

_"Still, it was her mother. And she might have heard something that Ricky or Marcello are hesitant to share. Greg, whatever happened to their father?"_

_"Ricky and Tina's? Good question. I know he's dead, but how he died and when might be something we should look into."_

_"__That should be easy to find out. Check the obituaries going back five years or so. Did he die before or after Lucy?"_

_"After. At least I think so." I rubbed my ear, wondering why I hadn't checked this angle before, __and why I got the impression that Ricky and Tina's father was still alive when his wife died__. Everything boiled down to the Locarnos __connection to__ Molino and his organization. "I'll do a search, and then talk to everyone about the two deaths."_

_Jess stood and reached for her kimono. __"__Tina might be able to tell us something about her father's death."_

_"Funny, she never mentions him."_

_She shrugged. __"She rarely mentions her mother, either."_

_"That's true enough. _

_"Don't you have to go into the hospital today?" __She glanced at her watch._

_"Not until later. We don't have a patient, and my boss doesn't expect me until close to noon."_

_"Well, Tina won't be at work this early, and I don't know her class schedule, so maybe we can look for her this evening."_

_"And meanwhile, Mr. Google and I can spend some time together." __I flexed my fingers._

_"I hope you two don't mind if I watch."_

_I laughed. "Don't you have things to do for the party on Saturday?"_

_"Now that the freezer problem is solved, there's little for us to do. I might as well make myself useful. Besides, you know how curious I am now about Lucy's death and that of her husband. I don't even know his name."_

_"Ricardo, like his son." _

_She smiled. "Leave it to you to know that."_

_We ate breakfast and dressed, then took our second cups of coffee into the office we'd set up in one of the spare bedrooms. I sat at the desk and Jess pulled up a chair beside me as I turned on the computer. Ignoring the gazillion email messages waiting for me, I plunged right in, searching for obituaries for Ricardo Locarno._

_"Well, that was easy." The search engine spit out three obits, all dated t__wo__ years before. One gave the barest information that he'd died on May twelfth, two thousand twelve, after fighting the big C for three years. He was survived by his father, brother and two kids, all of whom I knew, and preceded in death by his wife Lucy, __who died the year before__. __That was the same year Francesca Molino was killed, the same year Morgan was released from prison._

_"So, Molino wasn't involved in Ricardo's death."_

_"No." I read the second obituary. "__Here's something. Look at this photo of Marcello, Ricky and Tina."_

_Jess studied it. Her eyes went wide when she saw what I meant. In the background, Bertoli stood talking to another man. "Is that Tony Locarno?"_

_I nodded. "Marcello never mentioned they knew each other."_

_"But Bev said, or maybe it was Marcello, that his father tried to get them together. That might have been as a favor to Bertoli."_

_"Yes, that sounds reasonable. Still, I wonder how friendly their fathers were." It was a shame that there wasn't a recording of their conversation along with the photo._

_"We can ask Bertoli," Jess suggested._

_"I guess a visit to The Melting Pot is in order for this evening. We have questions for Tina, too."_

_Jess smiled. "If only we could get Tony there tonight, as well."_

_I could think of a couple of scenarios to make that happen, one involving Tony's granddaughter and another, his son. And I could also think of several objections. "Bertoli is trying to keep Tina safe. If __any of the __Locarno__s__ show up at the restaurant, it could draw Molino's attention."_

_Jess frowned. __"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that."_

_"Okay, getting back to finding Mike Morgan."_

_"And investigating the fruit company. __I still think__ I should encourage my father to purchase his fruit from them."_

_"How would that get us any information? He's not ready to start up his place, and he doesn't know what we want to find out about Bernini Fruit."_

_"__We should__ tell him about Morgan. I think he still has some animosity toward the man who killed Mom, even though he tends to put some of the blame on Petey." __She waited for my nod. "If we tell him we're after Morgan, and that Morgan drives for Bernini, that would be enough of an incentive for him to work with us on __investigating the company__." __She tapped her fingers on the desk. "Even if he's not ready to have fruit delivered, he could talk to whoever schedules deliveries and learn a lot."_

_"Yeah, that __c__ould work."_

_"__I'm gonna call him right now." __She took out her phone._

_I reached for her hand. __"__Jess, you're sure about this?"_

_She smiled at me, found her father's number and called. She put the phone on speaker so I could hear both sides of the conversation. "Hi, Dad."_

_"Jessica. I'm glad you called. There's something I wanted to ask about." __Giordano's familiar gruff voice sounded almost pleasant._

_Jess and I exchanged puzzled looks. "What is it?" she asked._

_"Do you know someone named Beverly Windermaker?"_


	151. Chapter 151

_Here's this week's chapter. We left off with Jess calling her father to ask for his help, and him asking whether she and House know Bev Windermaker. _

_Thanks for reading my story. Leave a comment if you enjoyed it._

_**Chapter 151.**_

_My mouth dropped open. So did Jess'._

_Once Jess could speak again, she said, "Yes, I know Bev. Slightly. Why do you ask?"_

_Giordano sounded more curious than anything else. "She called me this morning to ask about a job in my new restaurant." _

_"What kind of job?" __Jess reached over and drew a line through our plan for her father._

_"She said she recently returned from Italy and had some menu ideas, but would be happy to start out as a hostess."_

_"She's quite pretty." Jess bit her lip, then mouthed 'How much should I tell him?'._

_"How do you know her?" __he asked._

_I found a blank page on __the__ pad and wrote, 'Tell him she's my patient's sister'._

_Jess nodded. "We met her through Greg's patient, __who's __her__ sister. __Bev__ came back to the States to visit Marisa."_

_As they talked, I __wondered what to do now that __our plan __was __impossible. We couldn't ask him to buy fruit from Bernini if Bev was working for him. I also didn't think it was wise to tell __Jess' dad__ that Bev was Bertoli's daughter, or involved in any way with Molino or Marcello. I also wondered what motivated Bev to call Giordano. __Maybe Jess was right to be skeptical about her._

_M__eanwhile, Giordano sounded convinced. __"Well, thanks for your endorsement of Beverly. I'll arrange a meeting, but I'm pretty sure I'll hire her."_

_"That's great. I guess, now that she's back in New Jersey, she's going to stay, and she certainly needs a job." _

_"__So why did you call?" Giordano __finally __asked._

_"Oh, just to see how your plans were going and tell you we have our first party this coming Saturday." Jess looked my way and smiled. _

_"Good luck with your party," __her father said._

_"Thanks. I'll let you know how it goes." She ended the call and smirked._

_I took her hand. __"You did want his approval and support. That might be as close as you'll ever get."_

_"True. So, what are we going to do about Bernini Fruit?" __She pulled her hand out of mine and stood, then began pacing the small room._

_"The minute he started talking about Bev working for him, I started thinking about __alternatives__. Maybe the answer is someone who already gets fruit from them, __Rudy at the Black Keys."_

_Jess stopped and sat again. "__Whether anyone would tell him anything__ would depend on what Morgan said about your encounter with him there."_

_"On the other hand, Rudy might hold a grudge against the company as well as __against __Morgan. Rudy __could__ approach them to complain about him. That way we can find out whether the fruit company fired him or even knows where he is."_

_"Wouldn't the cops have done that already? Rudy did file a complaint after all."_

_I nodded as I ran that through my mind. "It's still worth a shot."_

_"Okay. You can talk to Rudy and see what he says." She glanced at her watch. "It's getting late."_

_"I'll head to the hospital and see if Rudy visits his songbird today."_

_"I have a few last minute calls to make for Saturday, but I can do them from here." _

_I stood and kissed the top of her head. "See you later." As I strode out of the room, I thought of one other possibility that I wasn't ready to share with Jess just ye__t._

_Later, as __I drove to the hospital, __I __work__ed__ out the details of my latest idea in my mind. Again it would involve Jess' family, but a different member than any we'd mentioned before. For several reasons, it would only work, though, if Morgan was gone._

_The elevator was waiting on the ground floor when I arrived, but instead of taking it to my office, I went directly to Marisa's room. I smiled when I saw Rudy was there for a visit._

_"Dr. House, I was just telling Rudy that my sister's in town." Marisa looked better than she had since she arrived. "She came by last night and we had a long talk."_

_"Seeing Bev seems to have been good for you." My eyes shifted to her monitors. Very good, indeed. "Rudy, I'm glad you're here." I didn't want to talk to him in front of the patient, though. "Come by my office when you're finished with your visit."_

_"Sure. There was something I wanted to ask you." Rudy wasn't smiling. Was his request going to ruin my plan for him, just as Giordano's question ruined an earlier idea?_

_I nodded and left them to chat. While I waited for Rudy, I had other things to do._

_My office and the conference room were both empty. That was good. I sat down at my computer, but didn't turn it on. Instead, I searched my phone for a number and called it._

_"Dr. House? What's up?" _

_It had been a long time since I spoke to Petey. I knew from Jess that he'd be helping his sisters with their business, but I didn't know what else he'd been doing._

_"I wondered whether you were interested in a second job, besides working for Jess and Nina."_

_"Is there an opening at the hospital?" He sounded eager._

_"No, I'm afraid not. This would be something to help us with our investigation of Mike Morgan."_

_"That creep." __He practically spit the words._

_"He worked for a fruit company, driving a truck, but recently he split. How'd you like to apply for his job?"_

_"It wasn't my uncle's fruit company, was it?"_

_"Nope. Bernini."_

_"Why does that name sound familiar?"_

_"Jess and Nina might have mentioned that Molino sent a thug to the great state of NJ to continue his vengeance against the Locarnos. His name is Giancarlo Bernini."_

_"So he owns the company?" Petey was asking a lot of questions. _

_"No, Molino does."_

_"And you want me to go in as a spy. __Find out what I can about the company, and what they'll tell me about Morgan.__"_

_I couldn't tell whether he was smiling or frowning at the other end of the line, whether he was excited about this or wouldn't touch it. "So, are you in?"_

_He hesitated. "They pay delivery guys pretty well, don't they?"_

_"Some places do."_

_"House, I don't have a truckers' lice__n__se."_

_I hadn't thought of that. What would it take to get one in the state? "__Maybe they're hiring for other positions."_

_"Yeah, maybe. I'll check."_

_"And I'll see you at the party on Saturday?"_

_"I'm looking forward to our first gig. I'm amazed my sisters were able to pull this off."_

_"Well, they're both smart cookies."_

_"Yeah, I'm the only dumb one in the family." Petey sighed._

_I let the comment ride. It wasn't my job to boost his ego._

_Soon after that call, Rudy appeared in my doorway. "You wanted to see me?"_

_"Yeah. Have a seat." Once he did I asked, "__H__ave you seen Morgan since he drove into the front of the Black Keys?" _

_"__Naw. Each delivery, it's a different guy."_

_"Any of them ever talk about Morgan?"_

_He shook his head. "None of 'em talks much, and mostly __i__t's about what they brought __me__."_

_"__Well, if you can get one of them to reveal what happened to the previous driver, I'd appreciate it."_

_He nodded. "I tried that with the first one, but all he did was shrug and say, 'Don't know'. But I'll ask the others."_

_"I wonder who their boss is."_

_"I can ask that, too. Frankly, the stuff their delivering lately isn't the best. I was hoping to change suppliers."_

_"Hold off doing that for a little while. I think I can hook you up with Johnny Giordano's company."_

_"I heard good things about them." He scratched his ear. "Okay. I'll give Bernini another couple of weeks."_

_"__You might want to visit their business office to complain about the produce their sending you. Maybe someone there can help."_

_"Yeah. Sounds like a good idea."_

_"Thanks, Rudy."_

_"No, thank you." He grinned. "You're doing a great job on Marisa."_

_I would have been happy to take all the credit for her physical and emotional improvement, but too many people knew there were three other people who contributed to that. "The oncologist who's treating her now deserves a lot of your thanks. __And s__o do Ricky Locarno and Marisa's sister."_

_He chuckled. "She couldn't stop talking about either of them. So this sister is here in town for a while?"_

_"Yes. It seems she's decided it would be a good idea to stay." __I tapped a pen on my desk, thinking about Bev and her motivation._

_"Marisa's happy about __she'll be around__. For a long time she was afraid to __even __hope that her sister really cared about her, that anyone did."_

_"Oh, Bev cares alright." That was clear. What wasn't was what Bev's game was now. Why had she applied for a job with Peter Giordano? How did she really feel about Marcello? I didn't think any of those things were related to our investigation of Molino and Morgan, but I'd found recently that you could never tell._

_"There was something else I wanted to talk to you about." __Rudy steepled his fingers._

_"What's that?"_

_"When Marisa gets out of here, I'd like to have a party at the bar to welcome her back. Do you think it would be a good idea?"_

_ He'd have to be careful with the guest list, but the idea had merit. __Marisa would be thrilled. __"I know a catering company that could work with you on that."_

_He smiled. __"Your girlfriend's company?"_

_"Yes."_

_"__Fine with me. She's seen the place and would know what would work there. Should we let Marisa decide on the invitation list?"_

_"Might be best." __Then I had a better idea.__ "Unless you want it to be a surprise for her."_

_He snapped his fingers and pointed one at me.__ "Ooh, I never thought of that. I suppose I could come up with a list without her." His smile broadened. "Yeah, a surprise. Thanks, Doc." He started to walk away._

_"Rudy, don't forget what I asked you to do about Bernini."_

_"I won't forget." He strode out the door._

_Now I had two possible sources of info __o__n the fruit company. At least some of my plans might work out. __One way or another, I was determined to find out what happened to Morgan, and why Molino was after the Locarnos._


	152. Chapter 152

_Here's this week's chapter. __We'll be away the end of this week, but I hope to be back early enough on Saturday to post the next one. _

_Thanks for reading my story. Leave a comment if you enjoyed it._

_**Chapter 152.**_

_I was happy to see Jess walk through the door that evening. Lots to tell her. But she got the first words in._

_"__My brother came by Nina's this afternoon and told us what you asked him to do." Jess' arms crossed and she stared at me._

_"Our plan with your father fell apart." I stared right back. "I had to improvise."_

_"Well, lucky for you I agree in principle. He's the perfect one to insinuate himself into the fruit company." She __walked slowly__ to the couch in our living room._

_"I also talked to Rudy this afternoon." I sat down next to her._

_"So he visit__ed__ Marisa today?"_

_"Yes. Oh, and he may be calling you, too. He wants to plan a party for her for when she gets out."_

_"At the piano bar?" She smiled. "What a great idea."_

_"I told him it should be a surprise party, but that means that everyone else will have to be involved in the planning."_

_"Do you know when __she'll be released__? That's one party we'd love to do, but I hope it won't conflict with anything else we have scheduled." She took out her phone and brought up her calendar. "A weekday evening might work best."_

_I shrugged. "You'd have to ask Wilson how much longer she'll be at PPTH."_

_"I will, or maybe I'll have Nina do it. She can coordinate dates with him. I'll focus on ideas for the party. Do you know what kind of food she likes?"_

_"No idea. But I can find out. Maybe Bev has some ideas."_

_Jess studied me. "Do you still think she's on the level?" _

_"I do wonder what her game is that would involve working for your father."_

_She nodded. "You know, maybe I will ask for her help with Marisa's party. It'll allow me to get to know her better." Her mouth quirked._

_"__Jess. What are you thinking?"_

_"Oh, nothing really. Yet. But something __will come to me__." Her eyes laughed._

_I slapped my forehead. "What have I done? When I suggested you talk to Bev, I meant you could ask her what her sister liked."_

_"Oh, don't you think she'd love to help plan this shindig?"_

_"Well, yeah." She had a point. Working together on something like that, she'd have lots of opportunities to observe Bev, even ask her leading questions. "Okay. Go for it."_

_She smiled. "So, a party at The Black Keys." __She shivered and grinned.__ "All the possibilities. Oh, we could do a black and white party! Those are so much fun!"_

_"A black and white party. __Why does that make me think I'll have to wear a penguin suit?"_

_She laughed. "Nothing of the sort. Although that's an idea! Have people dress as their favorite animal."_

_"Jess!" __I rolled my eyes._

_She laughed harder and put a hand on my arm. "Relax. It only means __all of the food and decorations will be black and white, like the keys on a piano."_

_I thought about the concept. It made sense, very appropriate. "Black and white it is. __I can think of lots of white foods. Potatoes and rice, chicken, pork and fish, and lots of cheeses. But what would you use for black?"_

_She ticked them off on her fingers. "Olives and beans, of course. Blackened chicken, salmon and steak. There are lots when you think about it. This is going to be fun." The more she talked, the more her eyes flashed and the __wid__er her grin. "I'll call Rudy tomorrow and set up an appointment to talk to him about it. I bet he'll love the idea. We have a couple of restaurants that would supply what we need."_

_"But not Bernini Fruit."_

_"I don't think so." She giggled. I've always hated girls who giggled, but when Jess did it, the sound was pleasant. "Flowers. I think we'll stick to white with those. Otherwise it would be too funereal." Her mind was working the way mine did when I w__as caught up in __a particularly intricate puzzle._

_"Do you suppose you can take time out of your planning to have some dinner? I'm starved."_

_She patted my shoulder and attempted to frown. "Oh, were you slaving away all day at the hospital?"_

_"Absolutely." I gave her my best put-upon look, bottom lip curled and sad eyes._

_"Well, I think we can fix that. __You and I are __going for the final tasting of foods for Saturday." __She stood and reached for my hand._

_"We are?" I hadn't heard about that before. _

_"Yup. The restaurant is insisting. They don't want us to be dissatisfied with anything they send."_

_"It's that French place, right? Hope they have fries." I smiled __as I headed for the door__._

_"They might have pommes frits if you're lucky," __she teased._

_"Close enough. Are those on your menu?" __We walked out to the car._

_"Honestly, it's been a while since our clients picked out the food. __But it's for a sweet sixteen party, so I expect so.__" _

_"__Sixteen year olds like French food?" __I got into the car._

_"I gather Maison Philippe is the favorite restaurant of the clients' daughter."_

_"This is going to be interesting." __Before I started the engine, I asked,__ "So, is this tasting at the restaurant? I don't think I've ever been there."_

_"Yes, they have a tasting room but didn't have a private space large enough for the party, so that will be at a country club that allows members to bring in their own caterers." __She pointed straight ahead. "It's on Oak, just past the movie theater."_

_"And after we're full of French food, we'll visit the Melting Pot." It sounded like I'd be getting lots to eat._

_"Maybe we can have dessert there."_

_"Goodies dipped in melted chocolate. Sounds __yummy__." __I drove to the restaurant. The parking lot was almost full, but someone was pulling out of a handicapped spot. I waited, then took it._

_We entered the elegant main room of the place. A hostess in a long black skirt and white sequined top approached us. "May I help you? The wait is forty-five minutes."_

_"We're here for the tasting."_

_"Of course. The Goldman party. This way." She led us to a small room in the back. Four people were already there, a middle-aged couple and two teenage girls. The girls were examining the food on a long trestle table and giggling. I appreciated the way Jess giggled more than ever._

_"Miss Giordano, the food looks amazing," the woman gushed. She had short blond hair, styled like a young boys, and framing a round face. _

_"I'm happy you like it. This is my friend, Dr. Gregory House. Greg, Mr. and Mrs. Goldman."_

_Nina entered with Wilson in tow, and joined us. __Introductions were repeated. I hoped no one else was coming because I didn't want to hear them again._

_I drifted over to the two teens. "So, which of you is this party for?" I snatched a couple of hors d'oeuvres and popped them in my mouth._

_They looked at each other and giggled again. Then then taller one said, "I am. __Bria__nna__ Goldman. __Most people call me Bri.__"_

_She was pretty in that way that all teen girls seemed to be, not as thin as many, but not overweight either. Her brown hair was long and loose._

_"I won't be sixteen for another two months," her friend said. Not only shorter, but plumper, too, with a sweet face and blond hair. "__Who are you?"_

_"I came with them, specifically, the dark-haired wom__an."_

_"Is she your wif__e?"__Bri asked._

_I never knew how to refer to Jess. Girlfriend? Significant other? Lover? "She's a friend."_

_The shorter girl smiled. "If this party is as amazing as I think it'll be, I'm going to tell my parents to use the same catering company."_

_"Did you taste the food?" I asked. Maybe they could recommend the best things to try._

_"The pastry puffs are okay." Bri screwed up her nose. "Spinach, but edible."_

_Her friend __pointed to a few things.__ "Try the __camembert and mushrooms, or the sweet potato canapes."_

_"And these are just the hors d'oeuvres. I can't wait to see the main course__s__!" Bri said. __T__hese kids really liked French food. _

_Jess gravitated to me. "I see you've already made friends with the birthday girl and her friend."_

_"The friend may be a future client." I leaned close. "Watch what you say to her."_

_Waiters brought out more food as we sampled what was already there. "Why haven't we come here before?" I smacked my lips._

_"I didn't know you liked this kind of food or I would have suggested it." She bit into a puff pastry containing some mystery cheese and veggie combo. "Yum. Try one of these."_

_I'd never been an aficionado of French cuisine, but this restaurant might change my mind. _

_Wilson came over with a plate full of an assortment of appetizers. "This place was a good choice for your company."_

_"We needed something different from the Italian, Mexican and Oriental choices on our menus, and someone recommended the place." Jess was beaming. "The __restaurant__ sent the Goldmans to us."_

_Nina joined us. "It certainly is a good way to start off our business. Whatever else happens at the party, at least the catering is sure to be a success." Her grin was as wide as her sisters. _

_Mr. and Mrs. Goldman had been talking to the girls, but came over to where we stood. "You don't know how hard it is to please those two." Mrs. Goldman pointed to Bri and her friend. "But they love the food. I wouldn't be surprised if their friends do too."_

_"Guess we're good to go with the food," Jess said._

_"Now lets hope the rest of the arrangements go as smoothly." Mr. Goldman look__ed__ like he thought there'd be a hitch with something. But it wasn't the job of the caterers to arrange anything else._

_We tasted the beef Bourguignon, __poulet chausseur, pommes frites, and other items. There was so much to choose from it was difficult, but I was up to the task._

_At eight thirty, we left the Goldmans to finish their tasting. Wilson and Nina __decided to remain while we went to__ The Melting Pot._

_Bertoli grinned when we walked in. "Glad you__'re__ here. Do I have news for you!"_


	153. Chapter 153

_We arrived home too late last night to post, but a little late, here's__ this week's chapter. _

_Thanks for reading my story. Leave a comment if you enjoyed __this chapter._

_**Chapter 153.**_

_"What kind of news?" I asked Bertoli, wondering whether it had to do with Molino, Bev or even Tina or Julio._

_He ushered us to a nearby table and sat with us. __"I was able to convince __my daughter__ to stay in town for a while. She didn't really want to return to Palermo and that canagglio, that criminal."_

_I nodded. "She asked Jess' father for a job." __I watched his face for a reaction. _

_"She did?" __He was genuinely surprised __and maybe something else__.__ "Doing what?"_

_"Whatever he needs in his new restaurant," __Jess said. "__So you didn't put her up to it?"_

_He hesitated. __"__No. __Why doesn't she want to work for me?" _

_"It's probably better if she doesn't. We don't want Molino to know your relationship to her," __I pointed out. _

_Bertoli nodded. "Of course. That makes sense."_

_"So that's your big news? Seems to me we knew more than you di__d." __I smiled._

_"Oh, no." __He held up his hands.__ "That wasn't all." He looked around to ensure we weren't overheard __and lowered his voice__. "I spoke to Julio about the kidnapping. I understand __now __why __you were all__ taken." He no__dded at Jess. "__I knew__ you and your sister were caught along with him. But something didn't sit right with me. Remember that they ask__ed__ for very little ransom?"_

_I did, and I'd wondered about it myself, but we'd dismissed it because we believed it was only a way to scare Julio and force him to carry out his orders from Moli__no._

_"How did they know we could even come up with that amount?" __His eyebrows went up and then all the way down.__ "And why did they release everyone so quickl__y? __Huh?__"_

_"You __don't think it was a ploy to get us to trust Julio, do you? Why?" Jess didn't accept that. I didn't either._

_"__Oh, no. __No. He's a good kid and he has no intention of harming any of the Locarnos. __N__ot __just__ Tina, but the rest of her family. No, that wasn't Molino's plan."_

_"Then what do you think he was after __with the abduction__, and what's your new__s?__"__I wondered why he was taking his time to get to it._

_"Tina said something today that makes me think I know why Molino's after the Locarnos, and that ties into him __arranging the abduction__. Let me ask you this: what do you know about a connection between Molino and your girlfriend's family?" He __asked me, but __lifted his chin in Jess' direction._

_"I understand that Peter Giordano knows Molino somehow, although I never figured out how." Several things came together in my head, the fact that Jess and Nina were taken along with Julio, Bev's sudden desire to work for Papa, even Molino arranging for Morgan to avoid serving time for his wife's death, after he did for killing Jess' mother. "Are you saying h__e intended__ to have the girls kidnapped, not Julio?"_

_"That's what I think." He folded his hands together in front of himself. "I think he needed something to keep Giordano from talking about...something. Even though it didn't work out that way, even though Giordano may not have even known his daughters were taken, __your father has__ kept quiet. You said my daughter asked him for a job?"_

_"Yes." Jess' face was filled with conflicting emotions. "Do you think she's trying to find out what my father knows?"_

_Bertoli smiled. "My daughter __may be__ ahead of us all. I think she knew about the connection between Molino and Giordano, but she never said a word."_

_All of that made sense, but I still had a question. "But where do the Locarnos come in?" _

_"Whatever Molino is planning, the Locarnos stand in his way." __He shrugged.__ "I expect he's regrouping right now, knowing that the Locarnos are well protected, not the easy target they might have been when he first sent Julio here." He sighed. "I'm afraid there's worse to come. Hopefully, Bev can learn __some__thing from Giordano. __I__t will help us all __to __be prepared __for whatever's around the corner__."_

_Jess had a stricken look on her face, complete with eyes filling with tears. "I've had my problems with my father, but I never thought he might be __deeply __involved with a man like Molino." Her voice was husky with pain._

_"It's always possible that Molino had a hold over him and he's been forced to cooperate." __That seemed most likely to me._

_"For so long?" She couldn't stop the tears from overflowing. "Greg, maybe we should go home. I'm not feeling so well right now."_

_"Probably all that food you scarfed down at the tasting." I shrugged it off. "Besides, we came here to talk to Tina, although with this new intell, I'm not sure it's necessary."_

_Jess took a deep breath, let it out and nodded. "Okay. Let's not stay long, though."_

_"I'll bring Tina over right away." Bertoli got to his feet and look__ed__ around for the teenager. "Maybe you'd like a cup of tea, Jess?"_

_"Thanks. That might help." __Her slight smile disappeared once he was gone._

_While we waited for Tina, I drummed my fingers on the table, but I couldn't bare to see Jess in such distress. "Jess, let's not jump to conclusions. This is just Bertoli's theory."_

_She shook her head. "I have to be prepared to accept the fact that my father is a lying, no-good bum."_

_Tina rushed over and took the chair Bertoli had been sitting in. "Jess, what's wrong?"_

_"Did Mr. Bertoli tell you what he thinks?" She swallowed loudly._

_Tina glanced my way and then back. "Yes." She put a hand on Jess' arm. "__Don't think the worst of your father, not until we know anything with any certainty."_

_"That's what Greg's been trying to convince me."_

_"Because you have to. It won't change anything if you're upset. __Yo__u've lost any remaining faith you had in your father. __Now we have to find out what he knows and what his part is.__" I kept my voice as soft and soothing as I could._

_Jess sighe__d. __"__Why don't we ask Tina what we came to find out, and forget about my father for a few minutes. __We're here to__ talk about hers."_

_A furrow formed between Tina's brows. "What about my father? He's dead. He died a few years ago." __Her voice was almost a whisper._

_"Before your mother was killed." __It was a fact._

_"Yes."_

_"__What do you remember about how he died?" __I asked._

_"They said it was natural causes."_

_"And you believe them? Who told you that?" __I __watch__ed __her face__._

_"My mother and grandfather. Father was sick for a brief time. His heart, I think. And then..." She looked off into the distance._

_"Did you have a good relationship with him?" __It was Jess turn to ask questions._

_A fleeting smile softened her face. "We played games. Card games and Scrabble. He was very good. At first he let me win, but as I got older he must have realized I could hold my own because he didn't anymore."_

_"So you missed him." __Jess' face lost its stricken look._

_"I still do, maybe even more than my mother. She was terrific too, but I guess we weren't as close. But what do my parents have to do with anything? Aside from the fact that you think Mike Morgan killed my mother, what do they have to do with Molino?"_

_I tilted my head. __"That's what we're trying to find out."_

_Jess nodded. __"We saw a picture __of you, your brother and your uncle __at__ your mother's funeral."_

_"And?"_

_"And your grandfather __was__ talking to __Mr. Bertoli," __I told her.__ "So I guess they knew each other even then, huh?"_

_"I didn't know that. __No one ever told me.__"_

_I remembered what Mrs. Curci told us. __"Did your grandfather ever talk about a trip he took to Palermo?"_

_"Palermo? Isn't that where Julio's from? What was he doing there?"_

_"Trying to open a business. Julio's mother __mentioned__ it." __I shrugged.__ "Carlo Molino stopped him __and he left__."_

_Tina shook her head. __"But that __doesn't make sense. It __would be a motive for Grandpa to hold a grudge against Signor Molin__o__, not the other way around."_

_I scratched my ear. "That's what we thought. I just wonder what else happened while he was there."_

_"Did Molino ever come here?" she asked._

_"He came to check over the auto repair places __he owns__, __although not recently." __Julio told us that._

_"The place my brother brought his car after his accident, right?"_

_Jess nodded. __"Ricky saw Molino's wife there, but never Molino himself. Tina, can you talk to your grandfather, perhaps ask him about his time in Palermo, maybe find out whether he's had any other dealings with Carlo Molino?"_

_"I can try. Is there anything else __I can do__?"_

_Jess and I exchanged glances. She smiled at the teen. "Maybe your uncle or brother would answer questions about your parents' deaths that they wouldn't answer if Dr. House or I asked."_

_Tina nodded. "That I can do. No one talks about it, but I've had questions of my own for quite some time. I think you've convinced my uncle and brother that Morgan was responsible for my mother's death. Maybe they remember something they didn't understand at the time, but now makes more sense."_

_"We'll ask Bertoli how long he's known your __grand__father, and maybe more about their relationship."_

_"This is beginning to sound like one of those mystery stories where everyone is connected to everyone else, but not necessarily in the ways you expect." Tina grinned. "If it wasn't so serious, it would be fun. Well, I'd better get back to work. Mr. Bertoli doesn't pay me to sit here and chit-chat with customers. Should I send him over to talk to you again?"_

_J__ess nodded.__ "He was going to bring me some tea, and I'd still like some."_

_Tina stood. "Sure. And how about some chocolate fondu?"_

_"I thought you'd never ask." I smirked at her. __She winked at me and strolled away._

_"Tina's right. The connections we're finding are baffling. Still, they're beginning to make sense. I hate to admit it, but Bertoli's theory about my father seems more and more likely."_

_Bertoli himself brought over a tray containing a pot of tea and cup for Jess and a bowl of the molten chocolate with pieces of cake, fruit and cheese to dip in it._

_I rubbed my hands together and then dipped a couple of strawberries. "How long have you known Tony Locarno?" My eyes were on my dessert as I waited for Bertoli's response._

_"It seems like forever." Bertoli didn't try to hide it. _

_"Why didn't you mention it before?" Jess asked._

_His shoulders went up and stayed there __a while before dropping__. "I didn't think it was important. But now. Yes, I've known him a long time. When I first came here, I worked for one of his companies, and helped with some of the charities he sponsored." He chuckled. "Did he tell you he left me in charge when he went to Italy to open one of his clinics?"_

_So that's the business he wanted to open. "I understand Molino wouldn't allow him to set up business in Palermo."_

_"Yes, that was the only city where he couldn't."_

_"And you didn't think it was important to tell us about that connection between the Locarnos and Molino?" __Jess stirred her tea._

_He had a puzzled look on his face. "I thought you already knew." _


	154. Chapter 154

_House's investigation goes on, using everyone who agrees to help._

_Thanks for reading my story. Leave a comment if you enjoyed __this chapter._

_**Chapter 154.**_

_So there was a connection between the Locarnos and Bertoli. And one between Jess' father and Molino. "Bertoli, have you had any dealings with Peter Giordano?"_

_"Me? No, never. As long as he played his games in Dorsey, I ignored him."_

_I eyed him. That was a strange way of putting things, making it obvious for the first time that Bertoli was a bigger fish than he first appeared, __and that he was aware of Jess' father for some time __but didn't think highly of him__._

_"And Tony Locarno? What does he think of my father?" Jess asked my next question for me._

_Bertoli shrugged. "He didn't pay any attention to him __either, not__ until he decided to open up shop here in Princeton. Now he's not so sure. Was it you two who steered Giordano to Marcello __when he was looking for__ a location for his restaurant?" __He had his own questions._

_"If we'd known all the connections, we wouldn't have done that." __I si__pp__ed my coffee __and dipped another piece of fruit in the chocolate__. "So he __did approach__ Marcello.__I wasn't sure he'd take our advice. Now, __I wonder if he thought he __was fishing for__ info on the Locarnos for Molino."_

_"__I think I'm going to have to talk to my dad __one more time__." __Jess had that stricken look again._

_"Don't say anything about Bev being Bertoli's daughter," __I warned._

_"Oh, I won't." __Her__ chuckle __held no __humor__. "I'll let the two of you find out what she's up to."_

_Bertoli smiled. __"As long as my daughter continues to keep her relationships with Marcello and me quiet, she could help us a great deal."_

_"Thanks for being so open with us tonight," I told him._

_"But you think I should have told you more earlier." He __tilted his head__. "Perhaps I should have been more honest. A long habit, being in the background, pulling my strings. Tony likes the limelight, so I leave that to him."_

_"__And no one knows the modest owner of the best fondu restaurant in Princeton has an agenda. What are you after, Bertoli?" I asked._

_"I try to keep this town clean and safe, or at least more so than other cities in New Jersey. It helps that it's a college town and there's a large educated population, but you've noticed, I think, that we've kept Molino's businesses here to a minimum."_

_"The fruit company might have a bigger presence here than you think," I pointed out._

_"Tony's got his eyes on that, making sure they don't get too big. Jess, do you know whether your father is using Bernini?"_

_She looked thoughtful. "I don't think I asked about that, or even warned him not to. I wonder what he'd say if I did. It might be a way to find out how closely he's working with Molino. I'll definitely __bring it up__ next time I talk to him."_

_"Bev might be able to tell us who else he's hired." I smirked. "If she sees Morgan or even Giancarlo working at the restaurant, it would also tell us something."_

_Bernini scratched his ear. __"Especially if it's both. I think I'll give my daughter a call tomorrow morning, and then let you know what she's learned so far."_

_"And I'll call my father. With Tina talking to her family, we're bound to find out more."_

_"Maybe." As always, I was skeptical, but we'd picked up a lot of valuable information in the last hour. "__Of course__, we also have a couple of people trying to learn more about the fruit company."_

_"You do?" Bertoli sounded surprised, although his face didn't show it._

_I took a breath and let it out slowly as I thought about how much I could trust the guy. "Jess brother, Petey, is applying for a job at Bernini Fruit. Also, Bev's sister's boss is already a customer of the company, and he's been trying to get anything he can from the current drivers."_

_Bertoli whistled. "Seems like you've got a bunch of __lines in the pond__."_

_I grinned. "I do, don't I? And now we have to wait and see what my lines bring in." I stood. "Jess, I think we've done all we can here."_

_She nodded, took a last sip of tea, and got up. "Thank you, Mr. Bertoli. We'll talk to you when we have more, and hope you'll give us a call with any information you can gather."_

_We left the restaurant and drove home in silence. I thought about what we might learn over the next twenty-four hours, but didn't want to speculate. Based on the frown on Jess' face, she was still thinking about her father and h__ow he'__d__ contributed to Molino's efforts or what he might know._

_Once we were inside the condo, she collapsed on the couch. I sat next to her and draped an arm over her shoulders. She rested her head on my chest, and sobbed. It didn't happen often. I hated when women cried, but just as I didn't mind when she giggled, her sobs brought out a protective impulse I didn't know I had. _

_"Greg, could my father be Molino's silent associate the same way Bertoli is Locarno's?"_

_"If he is, Molino's not as smart as I thought."_

_She sniffed and wiped her eyes on a tissue. "What do you mean?"_

_"Bertoli is a clever and skillful man, someone who would make anyone a good partner, but your father? In a small town, he was a big shot, so he didn't need much besides a clever accountant." I pointed to her. "But here in Princeton? Truly a small fish in a big pond. Why would Molino associate with him?"_

_"Why indeed." __She put her hands on my chest. "I suppose we'll learn more tomorrow. Maybe we'll finally get to the bottom of all the questions we have." She got up and strode to the bedroom._

_I followed, more tired than I'd been in a while, both mentally and physically. _

_We got ready for bed silently, then crawled under the sheet and moved toward each other in the center of the bed, but we didn't make love. I wrapped my arms around Jess and she snuggled against me and fell asleep. I smiled, kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes._

_After an hour of filtering all we'd learned through my head, I __slept, too._

_In the morning when I woke, Jess was sitting up in bed. _

_"Good morning." I brushed an errant strand of hair off her forehead. "Feeling better?"_

_"Better? Yes, I guess so. I've decided that dwelling on the worst possibilities would be counter-productive. __I'll wait and __see what the truth is about my father __before I jump to conclusions."_

_"That's what I told you." __I love being right._

_"Yes, I know. But when I first heard Bertoli's speculations, I couldn't see past them." She got out of bed and reached for her robe._

_"And now?"_

_"They're only speculations, right? But I have to talk to Bev myself. I can't wait for Bertoli to do that and then tell us __after he decides __what we should know." She went into the bathroom, and I heard the shower._

_She was right. The same applied to the people we asked to look into Bernini Fruit. __I sat at the edge of the bed. __I'd have to do some __exploring__ myself, __too__. I trusted Rudy to tell me everything he learned. __But __Petey? __W__ell, Jess' brother wasn't the most reliable person. By the time Jess returned and started to dress, I was out of bed, too._

_As the hot shower water eased the __stiffness__ in my aging muscles, I planned my day, including a visit to the fruit company. I still had to come up with a reason to be there, but I figured I'd think of one before I got there._

_I toweled off and dressed. Jess was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, the one meal she was really good at. That morning we had scrambled eggs, sausage, toast and coffee. She ate some fruit, but knew not to offer me any. Much as I liked melon, grapes and whatever else she had in her bowl, those weren't breakfast foods in my book. _

_"I don't have to meet Nina until eleven, so I'm going to try to contact Bev this morning." She bit a piece of buttered toast. "__After that, I might call my father." She sounded reluctant._

_I nodded. "I think I'll pay the fruit company a visit before I go to the hospital."_

_"__Why?" Her brows grew together. "I thought you had it covered between Rudy and my brother."_

_"I need to see for myself what kind of operation it is." I speared a link, and ate it from one end to the other. Before I even swallowed, I added, "It's like the car places. I had to investigate those for myself."_

_"You'll call me if you learn anything, especially connected to my father?"_

_"Of course. Don't worry, Jess. Whatever his part in this, we__'ll__ find the truth. __Maybe you should hold off__ talk__ing to him until we do. Then you'll be able to a__sk him to explain __the things you don't understand__."_

_She smiled. "Yes, I guess I can do that."_

_I drank the last of my coffee, wiped my mouth, and stood. "I better go if I want to make a stop on the way to the hospital."_

_"Why? They don't expect you before ten or ten thirty." __She smiled for the first time that morning._

_"Sometimes I like to show up earlier. Keeps everyone on their toes."_

_She laughed as she rose to kiss me goodbye._

_##_

_Bernini Fruit Company was located in a warehouse on the east side of town, __nestled between two other warehouses. The old brick building had few windows and a metal door with a small sign over it, with only the street number and the word Fruit, not even Bernini._

_I parked along the curb between a pickup and an old Honda. Leaving my suit jacket in the car, I got out and walked to the door. There was no bell, only an even smaller sign that deliveries were made in the back and directing drivers to a side door. The knob turned in my hand, but the door didn't open. I walked around the building looking for the drivers' entrance. _

_A man came out a narrow door, reading a sheet a paper._

_"This where I sign up to drive?" I asked._

_He looked up. "They're not hiring. I just checked." He waved the paper at me. "Even though they advertised for drivers. Guess I'll have to try another place. You should too." He walked off down the street, still scanning his newspaper._

_There went my idea of pretending to be looking for a job. I looked at the building again, wondering what other ploy I could use. _

_The drivers' entrance did have a bell. I rang it, and a skinny younger man with a bad case of acne opened it. "We're not hiring, just like I told the last guy."_

_"I'm not here for a job. I want to speak to the manager about a bad case of fruit you delivered to my restaurant." __I could only hope it would get me in the door._


	155. Chapter 155

_Fanfiction was having problems yesterday, but it's find today, so I can post._

_Thanks for reading my story. Leave a comment if you enjoyed __this chapter._

_**Chapter 155.**_

_The skinny guy behind the desk frowned at me. "I'll see if the manager can see you now." He picked up a phone and punched a number._

_I stood with both hands on the top of my cane looking around the office. An old-fashioned cork board held notices pinned to it, some looking older than the board, with curled and browned edges._

_The metal desk was covered with piles of paperwork, some threatening to fall over. A few clipboards hung on hooks on one wall. I walked over to read them, but the skinny guy hung up his phone and said, "I'm afraid he's not available. Come back another day." As an afterthought, he added, "Please."_

_"Can I leave a message?" I took the top sheet from one of the piles and pulled out a pen._

_"Oh, no. Please. I've got a clean sheet here, I think." He opened a drawer and shuffled items inside, pulling out a grubby but blank piece of paper __and handing it to me._

_I had to complete my charade of course. Writing something unintelligible, I signed it with an even more indecipherable signature, folded the note and handed it across the desk. "Please make sure your manager gets this. I expect to hear from him before tomorrow morning."_

_I turned and left, but didn't go immediately to my car. I continued around the building to see what was in the back. Five delivery trucks were lined up facing away from the building. All had the name of the fruit company on them. Nothing unusual, since deliveries were mainly made early in the day._

_There was nothing further to see here. I started back for my car, __and then I stopped. Something I'd seen, perhaps out of the corner of my eye, encouraged me to turn around and go back to look at the trucks again._

_They were all neat and clean, not a scratch or dent in any of them. Where was the truck that Morgan used to ram the windows at the Black Keys? I supposed it could have been repaired by now, or even still in the shop, but there'd only been five clipboards in the office and there were five trucks out here._

_I mentally listed the questions I had. Rudy might be able to help me with some. Even Petey might know something. Smiling, I returned to my car and drove to the hospital. The morning stop hadn't been a waste. I just had to parlay it into the information I needed._

_I was so lost in thought as I entered the elevator to go up to my office that I didn't notice her at first, not until she spoke._

_"Dr. House. Are you just now arriving?" There was a slight smile on Bev's lips._

_"I had an errand to run first. Here to see your sister?" I wondered whether Jess had talked to her yet._

_She nodded. "She wanted her Nook. I guess she's getting bored, cooped up here. There are just so many magazines and daytime TV shows a person can take."_

_"You're staying at her place?" I hadn't thought about where Bev might be living, but knew it wasn't with her father. Or with Marcello._

_"Marlene insisted." _

_The elevator dinged as we reached Marisa's floor. Rather than continue on to my office, I got off with Beverly._

_She raised her eyebrows at me, perhaps surprised that I was still at her side, __and then let them drop__. "I talked to your girlfriend this morning."_

_"She's worried about her father's involvement with your erstwhile boyfriend."_

_Bev grinned. "I got that impression."_

_"__So?"_

_"I got the job at his restaurant, but I haven't learned anything yet. Mr. Giordano called an all-staff meeting for this afternoon, so I'll be able to find out who else he's hired, but I haven't caught even a glimpse of Giancarlo or even Mike Morgan." We'd reached Marisa's room._

_I slid open the door but didn't enter. "You know what Morgan looks like?"_

_"Oh, yes. I'll know him if I see him."_

_"But he doesn't know you?"_

_She shook her head. "Although, Giancarlo does. I kinda hope he doesn't show up." She smiled at her sister. "Morning, Marlene. Here's your e-reader."_

_Marisa took the device and smiled back. "Hi, Bev. And Dr. House, too. How is everyone this morning?" __She sounded more chipper than she had._

_I thought it best to leave the sisters together. "I have to get back to my office. Bev, when you're through here, stop by." I kept my tone as casual as possible._

_"Sure. See you later." Bev's attention was back on her sister._

_My conversation with Beverly wasn't over, not by a long shot. In addition to the information I wanted Bev to obtain from Giordano, I wondered if Jess brought up Marisa's party when she talked to her earlier. _

_The team was assembled in the conference room, each absorbed in trivial pursuits. Newspaper crosswords, medical journals. Taub was playing solitaire with a real deck of cards. I guessed we still didn't have a patient. __Since we turned Marisa's case over to Wilson, we'd only had one brief one that was resolved quickly._

_I didn't expect a call from Jess, since I knew she hadn't learned anything from Bev. Of course, I wouldn't have minded talking to her._

_Instead, the __only__ message on my phone was from my boss. What did she want now? I frowned as I played it back. No surprise. She wanted to know why Marcello was avoiding her. __I was avoiding her, too._

_The next message was from Rudy. "I talked to the fruit delivery man today. He says he's never heard of Mike Morgan. He's one of five drivers for Bernini, only started a week ago. Nice young guy named Pete."_

_I smiled. Rudy came through and Petey was now working for Bernini. I called Rudy back just in case there was more._

_"Hi, Doc. You got my message?"_

_"Yes. This new driver, what did he look like?"_

_His description met Petey's to a T._

_"That's Jess' brother, I think."_

_Rudy chuckled. "You send him in as a spy? He said it was a hard job but he liked it."_

_"Did he say anything else?" I wondered if he knew anything about the truck that was missing._

_"Nah. Had to go, but said I was on his route so he'd be seeing me again."_

_"Rudy, do you happen to know the license number of the truck Morgan drove into your front window?" I asked._

_"Yeah. Wait a sec. I got it right here." There was silence on the other end for a minute, then Rudy was back. "Okay, here it is. BRN1006. Th__e__ one may actually be an 'I'. The cops were looking for it and couldn't find it anywhere, not even at the fruit company."_

_The __licenses__ I'd seen were BRNI with numbers ranging from 001 to 005, so it made sense. Another fact-finding trip to the auto shops might be useful. "Did they check repair shops?"_

_"They were __planning to__, but I haven't heard whether they found it."_

_"__Well, I think we're making progress. Thanks Rudy. Have you spoken to Jess today? She has some great ideas for Marisa's party."_

_"Yes, your girlfriend just called. I love the __black and white __theme. Works really well with __the décor of __my place. Any word on when my songbird will be back?"_

_"Not yet." That was another thing I wanted to check, completely unrelated to anything else and free of complications, at least I hoped so. "I'll have Dr. Wilson give you a call when he knows. __Thanks for the info on the fruit company."_

_"My pleasure. See ya."_

_I wondered when I'd hear from Petey, if at all. Even though I asked him to keep me informed, he might decide there was nothing to tell._

_When I looked up, Bev stood in my doorway. "You asked me to come by after my visit with my sister."_

_"Yeah. Have a seat." __I twirled a pen through my fingers.__ "I have a few more questions for you, some of them not related to what we talked about before."_

_"Oh? What else can I tell you?"_

_I tossed the pen onto the desk. __"What's your sister's favorite food?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Her boss is planning a surprise party at the piano bar when Wilson finally springs her from this place. Jess and her sister are catering. A black and white party."_

_Bev grinned. "That sounds like fun. Hmmm, let me see." She stroked her chin and narrowed her eyes. "She used to love spaghetti. I don't know whether she still eats it, but put any kind of pasta with a marinara sauce in front of her and she'd gobble it up. __Of course, that adds red to the palette. __Marlene was never big on hamburgers or hot dogs, though. And salads. She could eat an entire head of lettuce on her own. No dressing. No other veggies." There was a wistful look in her eyes. "We had a pretty good childhood until her father died. Then there was only Mother." Her smile twisted into a frown. "I escaped by going off to college, but poor Marlene."_

_"I thought your mother disapproved of your artistic aspirations."_

_She nodded. "I was an education major the one year I spent at Rutgers. She thought I should be a teacher, so she didn't complain, but then I dropped out, moved to New York, to the village."_

_"And later to Europe?"_

_"About four or five years later. I was so busy escaping from __Mother__ that I ignored Marlene." __She looked down. "I regret that now. I was so self-absorbed, but I hope I've grown up enough to be the big sister she needs."_

_What could I say? "The best thing you can do is help with this party."_

_Bev smiled. "It'll be my pleasure. I'll see whether I can find out whether she still eats pasta. Maybe I'll bring her some. Would that be okay? I mean, she's not on a restricted diet, is she?"_

_"Not that I know of. The only consideration is whether she can swallow something. She has had treatment of her vocal cords."_

_"Yeah, that's why her voice is so raspy. And she said they told her not to talk too much, so I did most of the gabbing today." She got up. "Well, I'd better go. I'll let you know what happens at Giordano's staff meeting, and I'll talk to Jess about the party for my sister."_

_"One more thing before you go. When are the secrecy is no longer necessary, do you think there's a future for you and Marcello?"_

_She grinned. "I certainly hope so."_

_As she walked out, she passed Petey rushing toward me, __hopefully__ to report what he knew._

_He turned to watch Bev, then continued into my office. "Who was that babe?"_

_"The sister of a patient." He didn't have to know more. "So, what do you have for me?"_

_"I managed to land a job with the fruit company. Man, it's hard work loading and unloading a truck! Those crates of oranges weigh a ton!"_

_I nodded, waiting for him to tell me something I pertinent. _

_"Anyway, the office manager told us that they had one truck out of commission. Guess that's the one that bashed in that window, right? But there's still five of us driving. One of the guys has been there a while. Big guy." He held a hand high over his head. "Name's Chuck. He says the driver from that truck hasn't shown up for work since he crashed it."_


	156. Chapter 156

_Thanks for reading my story. Leave a comment if you enjoyed __this chapter._

_Chapter 156._

_Petey didn't have anything further to say about his new job or what was happening at Bernini Fruit. "I never saw the big boss, only the office manage__r__."_

_"Skinny guy, about your age?" I asked._

_"Yeah, how'd you know?"_

_"One of my little secrets." I smiled to myself. It was such fun playing with Jess' brother. "Call me again if you learn anymore."_

_"Sure. Will you be at the opening next Saturday?"_

_"The first catering party?" __I grinned.__ "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Hope you can juggle the two jobs for a while."_

_"Oh, easy-peasy. I'll see you then."_

_I was pleasantly surprised he'd come through with as much as he had. Everything we were learning now was consistent, which usually meant it was true. I glanced at the list I'd made myself so I didn't forget to follow-up on any of my spies. Before I went further, though, I had a question for Wilson. I left my office going only as far as his door._

_There was no answer to my knock. That didn't stop me. I turned the knob, but the door was locked. No problem. The short walk back through my office took me to the balcony we shared. He might secure the hall door to his office, but Wilson rarely bothered with the other one. A jaunt over and I was on his side of the low wall. The door from there was open and I slipped into his office. And stopped dead._

_Wilson was stretched out on the couch that I viewed as my own private napping spot. His snoring hadn't improved. Open-mouthed and loud as ever. __That Nina must wear him out._

_Should I make a loud noise and wake him, or take the opportunity to rifle through his desk knowing he might open his eyes at any moment?_

_Wilson saved me the effort of making that decision. He woke with a start. "House, what the hell are you doing here?"_

_"__What does it look like I'm doing?"_

_"Besides poking your nose where it doesn't belong..." He rubbed his eyes, then narrowed them. "What time is it, anyway?"_

_"Time for you to tell me when you're releasing our patient."_

_He gave me his stare of disdain. "You mean MY patient, Marisa."_

_"Did WE have another patient in common?"_

_The glare was still there, but he answered, "Probably next Monday. I want her vocal cords to heal some more before she goes out there and strains them again."_

_"That's all I needed." I turned to leave._

_"House, that can't be all."_

_"Really, it was. You can go back to sleep now."_

_He glanced at his watch and then jumped up. "Yikes! I have a consult in five minutes."_

_"I'll leave you to it." I looked at the door to the balcony, considered, then strode to the hallway door and left._

_My team were no longer in the conference room. I entered my office and pulled out my phone to call Jess._

_Without preamble I asked her, "What's the best day next week for you to cater the party for Marisa?"_

_"Hello to you, too." She laughed. "So she's being let loose?"_

_"Wilson says probably Monday. Bev says spaghetti."_

_The merriment was gone from her voice. "Oh! I forgot to ask her about that."_

_"You were more concerned with your father." I shrugged although she couldn't see me._

_"Yeah, I was. So __Bev__ was there this morning?"_

_"Bringing her sister an e-reader. So was Petey."_

_"My brother brought Marisa an e-reader?"_

_"No, no. He was here this morning with the same story he told Rudy. It confirmed what I saw."_

_"I'm having a harder time than usual following what your saying this morning."_

_"Sorry." I wasn't really, but thought I should say so. I gave her a sequential rundown of my activities since I saw her last, leaving out unimportant things._

_"Okay, now I understand. So, my brother's driving for the fruit company, there's a truck missing, the one Morgan drove into the Black Keys, my father's having a staff meeting and Bev will report on that, Marisa will be released Monday, and she used to like spaghetti with marinara sauce."_

_"You got it."_

_"I suspect you're going to the auto repair places today to look for the truck."_

_"Why do you suspect that?"_

_"Because I know your M.O." She paused. "Want some company?"_

_I chuckled. "You just want in on the fun."_

_"Oh, I had my own fun already today."_

_I wondered what she meant. __She must have noticed._

_"Relax. I meant I had a good talk with Bev. I know she told you some of it, but we also talked about our fathers. When I told her how lucky she was to have Bertoli as hers, she pointed out she hadn't grown up with him, but her adoptive father was a good guy, too."_

_"Windermaker."_

_"__Right. T__hat his name."_

_"Yes. Marisa's dad. __Even though h__e died a few years ago, Bertoli was always a presence in Bev's life, arranging her introduction to Marcello."_

_"Yes, she said something about that. Greg, I know I was suspicious of her at first, but I like her. I understand now why you took to her."_

_My team was approaching, so I cut it short. "I'm going to have to go. I'll call when I'm ready to head to the auto shops."_

_"Alright. I wanted to go over some last minute things with Nina for the party on Saturday anyway. Talk to you later."_

_Chase entered first, but Thirteen held the file._

_"Whadda we got?" I held out a hand for it._

_She relinquished a copy. "Ninety-year-old male with the constitution of a fifty year old suddenly collapsed while he was mowing the lawn."_

_I rolled my eyes. "What's a ninety year old doing mowing his own lawn?"_

_"It wasn't his own __grass__." Taub smirked. "He __run__s a service, and has been doing his neighbor's for years without any problem. And before you ask, it was a riding mower."_

_"Anyone check his heart?"_

_"No sign of a heart attack, a stroke, or any kind of blockage." Chase scratched an ear. "As Hadley said, constitution of an ox."_

_"She said fifty year old to spite me, but we'll let that slide." I opened the file and scanned the top page. __They'd covered all the basics. "Check the mower and the grass he was mowing."_

_They stood there, mouths agape. Chase closed his first only to reopen it and ask, "What?"_

_"You heard me. Check the mower engine. Maybe it was emitting too much carbon monoxide. And the grass. Was it recently fertilized or treated?"_

_Taub finally caught on. "So you think it was a reaction to something he breathed in."_

_"Duh." I stuck my tongue out at them. "What are you standing around looking like idiots for?"_

_They scurried off, giving me a chance to read the file in peace. After I'd finished, I closed it on my desk, an elusive idea trying to congeal. Disparate information about the patient, about the Locarnos and Molino, and about the two sisters. Bev and Marisa, not Jess and Nina, although maybe I should throw them into the mix. What did a riding lawnmower have to do with anything?_

_But it had triggered something, something someone said when Julio and the girls were kidnapped. So much had happened since. __I snapped my fingers. Bleach. Julio and the girls got a good whiff of the stuff. And then there were their gags. Ethylene glycol-soaked rags, if my memory serves. The patient may not have been exposed to those chemicals, but then, maybe he was. __I pressed my forefinger down on my upper lip and hooked my thumb under my chin._

_I know. It seemed I related everything in my life lately to whatever was going on between Molino and the Locarnos. Then again, a lot was. Who would have thought that Marisa was connected, however tenuously? It was as if my involvement with the Giordanos was bashert, preordained. I'd had a love-hate relation with destiny all my life. I didn't believe in it, because it smacked of something science couldn't explain, and yet I did believe I was fated to be a doctor._

_Alright, enough philosophizing, I told myself as I stood suddenly. Time for action. The team was doing their magic with the new patient. I'd wait for their results before I threw more at them __based on my musings__. Meanwhile, I had a date with my girl and a detailing shop. As I made my way to my car, I called Jess._

_"Ready to roll?" she asked._

_"I'll be there to pick you up in ten." I didn't have to tell her anything else._

_She was waiting outside when I pulled up in front of our place. "Any more news?" she asked._

_"We have a patient."_

_"So why are you here and not at the hospital?"_

_"They don't need me for a while."_

_"So we're looking for the delivery truck that smashed Rudy's window?"_

_"Yes. It's probably already repaired, but it'll be interesting to find out who brought it in, and what they say happened to it."_

_"Molino owns the shop. There's no reason for Morgan or anyone else to lie about how it was damaged."_

_"I don't think Molino would take kindly to one of his drivers using one of his trucks as a battering ram."_

_"No, just as a murder weapon."_

_"Good point. Although technically, Morgan used his own pickup for that, every time." _

_The nearer of the shops __was__the one on Old Trenton Road where Jess, Nina and Julio__had been held. We found it__ busier than __we__'d ever seen it. I couldn't find a parking spot in front of the office, but squeezed my car into a spot marked 'Loading Zone', and put up my handicapped placard on the dash._

_The office was crowded. All of the salesmen were busy with customers. That gave us an opportunity to study the photos on the wall again. Now that I'd seen more of the players in this little farce, there were more faces to look for._

_Besides the few shots with Francesca in them, __one with Julio,__ and __two__ with Ricky Locarno, I saw one with Giancarlo's ugly mug. No one else. _

_As one of the salesmen finished with a customer, Jess caught his eye. "How can I help you?" His grin couldn't be broader._

_"My friend was in a week or two ago and got an estimate, but we don't see the salesman he talked to. Can you help us?" She didn't quite bat her eyelids._

_I joined them. "The estimate __was more than I was willing to spend, but every other place I've tried was even higher."_

_"Well, let's see if we can find a copy of your estimate." The salesman's eyes hadn't left Jess. I didn't think it was because he'd seen her before. The turnover of staff at this place was high. _

_"Could we get a tour of your facility?" Jess purred at him._

_He would probably have rolled over and died for her. "Of course. And what's your name, pretty lady?"_

_"I'm Jessica. What's yours?" _

_I rolled my eyes. His nametag said Bill._

_"I'm William, Jessica."_

_I was almost forgotten as he went to a terminal to find the estimate. _

_"What name should I look for?"_

_"House," Jess said. "Or maybe it's under __Giordano."_

_He searched, then looked up at her. "Peter Giordano?"_


	157. Chapter 157

_Here's this week's chapter. Enjoy._

_**Chapter 157.**_

_Jess and I exchanged matching quizzical looks. __A repair job order__in__ her father__'s name__? That was completely unexpected._

_"Uh, no. Are there any others? Oh, maybe try Wilson." She was reaching._

_"On second thought, that estimate under the name Giordano. What kind of car was it?" I interrupted._

_"Let me see." He seemed to scroll through the record. "A delivery van. Front end. I think we still have the truck here."_

_"Do you know which salesman took the order?" Jess asked, glancing my way._

_"Looks like it was Eddie."_

_"Is he here today?" I looked around but couldn't see the nametags on all five salesmen._

_"Why are you so interested in the van?" He was suddenly suspicious._

_Jess seemed to know it was time to retreat. "Well, if you can't find our estimate, maybe you can look at our car and then give us that tour you promised." She was back to flirting with him._

_He responded as we hoped. "Sure. Where are you parked?"_

_We took him out to see the car. He whistled. "Don't see many old models like this on the road. __It can use a__ nice paint job, new interior, we can definitely spiff up this one." Dollar signs appeared in his eyes._

_"So you think you can do something with it?" __Jess asked._

_"Absolutely! Come on back and I'll show you what they're doing to some of the cars."_

_We followed him through the gate of the chain-link fence that enclosed the back lot of the place. Lots of cars looked like they were already finished and were waiting for their owners to retrieve them. Lots more were waiting for body repairs and assorted detailing._

_Bill pointed out a few with new paint jobs. "Your car would look fantastic with th__at__ baby blue paint and a navy stripe along the side."_

_I nodded, but my eyes were on a van exactly like the ones parked behind the fruit company office. __It looked like the work on it was done and it was __ready__ for someone to pick it up. "You folks do good work. Is that the truck from the Giordano job?"_

_"You'd have to ask Eddie." He smiled and pointed his finger. "There he is, talking to that young couple."_

_We strolled to where they were inspecting an SUV._

_"Nice job," I said._

_The young woman smiled and her husband said, "The chrome still needs a bit of touch up, but we're happy with what they did."_

_"Eddie, this couple wanted to know something about the van at the end of this row." Bill used his chin to point this time. _

_The other salesman was shorter and darker than Bill, but had the same not-quite-trustworthy look about him. "Giordano's truck?" His eyes narrowed at us._

_"I'm Jess Giordano, and I was wondering whether it was my brother or my father who brought it in."_

_"Guess it was your brother. He didn't look old enough to be your father."_

_"But older than me?"_

_"I'd say. Fortyish, blond. Big guy." He held his hand at my height._

_Jess and I exchanged a glance. That certainly wasn't Petey, in fact, it sounded a lot like Mike Morgan. _

_"Why you asking?" Eddie's eyes narrowed further._

_"I'm afraid the accident was my fault and I wondered how much it cost to fix the truck," Jess lied. "__And who was paying for it."_

_Eddie nodded, accepting her story. "It was quite a job. The front fenders on those run big bucks. I think I estimated over two grand for everything, but it might have come in a little higher than that. As I remember, the insurance adjuster wasn't too happy."_

_That brought up a new question. "Whose insurance did Peter use?" _

_"It's a company truck," Eddie replied._

_"See, Honey, Bernini's __insurance is __paying for it." I __placed a hand on Jess' shoulder._

_She__ sighed loudly, nodded and frowned._

_There was one more thing we needed to know, though. Who was picking the truck up? __I sensed the young couple taking everything in and wondered if I could use them, then decided against it. They were an unknown quantity. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to monopolize your salesman." I started to turn away but before they could speak, I turned back. "I suppose you won't let us take the truck off your hands."_

_Eddie shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The person I spoke to this morning at the fruit company said they'd be sending someone out this afternoon."_

_"Now that's a conscientious guy." I addressed the couple directly. "You kids picked a good one."_

_The young woman smiled at me, but the man with her looked at me like I was off my rocker. _

_"Guess we'll be on our way." I took Jess' arm._

_"What about your car?" Bill asked. I'd forgotten he was still there._

_Going over some options would give us a chance to stick around and see who picked up the delivery van. We followed Bill back to the office and took the seats he offered us next to his desk. _

_"So, you wanted a paint job, right?"_

_I nodded. "Maybe that blue you showed us. But no stripe."_

_"Oh, honey, why can't we get a stripe? Please!" __Jess actually batted her lashes at me._

_I hid my smile and played along with Jess. "Oh, alright. A stripe it is."_

_"And we need new seats."_

_"No new seats." I took my time looking at her face. Loud sigh. Puffed out cheeks. "Maybe they can __reupholster__ the old ones."_

_Jess smiled, but stopped short of clapping her hands. "And maybe new tires."_

_I countered, __"What's wrong with the old ones?"_

_"Nothing, but you know how I like white walls."_

_"White walls went out with disco," __I scoffed._

_"Disco's coming back."_

_Bill watched us as if we were in a tennis match. __What fun!_

_After some more back and forth, I turned to him. "Women. You can never please 'em."_

_He nodded like a good salesman who knows who's paying the bills. "Why don't we write up a new estimate. I promise, this time we won't lose it in the system."_

_I glanced at Jess. "You sure about the tires?"_

_"Well, maybe not. But the new seats, pretty please?" Her lips pouted. "Buckets."_

_"Oh, all right." We watched as Bill recorded everything, occasionally asking a question to confirm everything we talked about. The dollar signs never left his eyes._

_Sitting where we were, we saw him enter and look around for someone who'd wait on him. I hoped he wouldn't spot us, or come over if he did._

_"Can I help you?" the only female sales person asked. _

_Petey smiled at her. "I'm here to pick up a truck." He was still looking around. It was obvious to me when he saw his sister, but all he did was smile and raise __the volume of __his voice slightly. No one else seemed to notice. "They sent me from Bernini Fruit. It's a white van with the name of the company on the side?" He handed her a card._

_"Of course." She checked her computer. "Looks like the work__'__s done. It's around back."_

_He left with her just as Bill printed out our estimate. It was twice our __monthly __mortgage payment. He'__d__ done __it __in the hyphenated name House-Giordano._

_I whistled. "I knew it would be high. I'm gonna have to think about what we can eliminate. I'll be back next week." Of course, I had no intention of returning._

_Jess flashed another smile at Bill and we left. As we got into the car, she said, "I think we'll have to have another talk with Petey."_

_I nodded. "If Morgan dropped off the van, why did he use your father's name? And how did the anyone at the fruit company find out the van was here unless he told them?"_

_"Remember, Molino owns this shop, too." __We got into the car and I drove to the exit of the place._

_"That could be the connection." __I grimaced. "I hoped Morgan would be the one picking up the van. Well, I guess you can't always get what you want. C'mon, I think we'__ve__ done enough damage here for one day."_

_Jess was worried about something else. "Greg, do you think Molino will see that we got an estimate here?"_

_"__I doubt he reviews all the orders that are entered, especially if we never go back to have the work done."_

_She put a hand on my arm. __"But he can have a program set up to alert him about certain names."_

_"Like yours and mine?" I merged into traffic and headed for home. _

_"Like my father's, which let him know about the van, and might also pick up our estimate."_

_Frankly, I hadn't even thought of that when we talked to Bill. "Nothing we can do about it now, except be extra vigilant."_

_She probably nodded but realized my eyes were on the road. "Yes, we do."_

_"Where should I drop you? I have to get back to the hospital and find out what my team's up to."_

_"Drop me at Nina's. She was working on the place cards for tomorrow night based on the Goldman's seating arrangement."_

_"Excited?"_

_"Very. Greg, this is a big step for us. Tomorrow could make or break our business."_

_"You'll do fine. The food's terrific, you're so thorough that between you and your sister you've thought of everything. What could go wrong?"_

_"Unfortunately, too many things, things we have no control over." Her voice was strained._

_"Opening night nerves. Don't worry."_

_"Easy for you to say."_

_I've never been a supportive person, never had anyone I wanted to support. But if Jess needed me, I'd be there for her. "__Jess, you're flexible enough that you can quickly find a way to work around any problems that develop."_

_"So you think there will be snags?"_

_"That's not what I'm saying." __It wasn't as easy as it seemed. "What I meant was you can handle anything you set your mind to do. No one can stop you. The party will be a brilliant success."_

_"Nice of you to say."_

_"You know I don't make a habit of saying nice things."_

_She chuckled. "No you don't."_

_We'd reached Nina's building. Jess got out, and I watched her enter, then drove to the hospital._

_The team wasn't in the conference room. I hoped they were tending to the patient, but I wasn't about to go looking for them. The light on my phone was flashing. I ignored it for the time being and stretched out in my Eames chair to think about what Jess said. Was Molino targeting anyone besides the Locarnos? How did his association with Papa Giordano impact the rest of the Giordano family?_

_My ce__llphone rang, and I let it go to voice mail, but just before it did, I looked at the caller ID. "Hi, Petey, what can I do for you?"_

_"What were you and my sister doing at the car shop?"_

_"You know it's owned by Molino, don't you?"_

_"It is? Does he own everything in this town?"_

_I laughed at his dismay. "No, only a car repair shop here, another in Trenton, the fruit company and a few other __businesses__. What did they tell you about the van you were there to pick up?"_

_"Just that it had been in an accident." __He paused.__ "I tried to get someone to tell me which driver, but no go. Sorry."_

_"Still no sign of Morgan at Bernini?" __I asked._

_"Nope. __But get this." His voice rose in excitement. "There's some kind of special delivery they have scheduled for tomorrow. They'll need all the trucks for it, too. __And all of the drivers.__"_

_"__Including you?" __That sounded interesting. "Find out what you can about it."_

_"Oh, I will. I wil__l."_


	158. Chapter 158

_Here's __another__ chapter. __Hope you all e__njoy._

_**Chapter 158.**_

_I made a note of what Petey said as I thought about what kind of delivery they __might__ be using the van's for. It didn't sound like it was fruit. I hoped Petey __could find out, and __would be finished with it in time for his job with Jess and Nina._

_Was there another way I could help the __sisters__ with their first catering job? Other than eating some of the food they served, that is. __And being there to cheer them on. __That would have to do. _

_It had already been __a long day, and it was about to get longer. The one person I wasn't ready to talk to appeared in my doorway. _

_"House, why aren't you returning my calls? Have you forgotten that I'm the one who pays your salary?" Cuddy was on the warpath. _

_"__Busy here." I didn't even bother to get up._

_"It doesn't look to me like your are."_

_"Got a patient. I can't be bothered with your love life."_

_She glared at me. "I need to talk to Marcello about hospital board business, but he's not returning my calls."_

_"And you're telling me this because?"_

_"Because he'll talk to you. Please have him call me." She turned on her pointy heels and left. _

_I dismissed her request from my mind, especially because Chase showed up waving the patient's file. _

_"We did every test we could think of, even some that weren't appropriate. House, this one's got us all stumped."_

_I let out a melodramatic sigh. "Guess I'll have to do it." I grimaced at him as I rose and reached for the file. "Gimme." A scan of the pages inside confirmed what he'd told me. This patient was very healthy. __His riding mower, too, was in tip-top shape. The grass he had been mowing hadn't been fertilized recently, either. __There were absolutely no reasons for __his__ symptoms. _

_Without a word, I marched out to the elevator and took it to the patient's floor. Taub sat next to the bed, chatting with the white-haired chap._

_I had to look at the file for his name. __"Mr. __Stone, do you maintain your own equipment?"_

_"Sure do." His open mouth grin displayed a fine set of white teet__h. _

_"What do you use to clean the cutting blad__es?"_

_Taub looked at me quizzically as Stone answered. "Cleaning fluid, a cours__e."_

_I smiled. "Inside a garage, right?"_

_"Yup." He puffed out his chest in pride._

_"Clean your hands afterwards?"_

_He nodded. "And wipe 'em with my rag."_

_"What else do you do with your rag?"_

_"What?"_

_"I think you're exposing yourself to too much of those fumes, Mr. Stone. You may be keeping yourself and your equipment in great shape except for what those chemicals are doing to you." __I watched to see whether he understood what I was saying._

_"So how else can I care for my equipment? I have a business to run!"_

_I knew he'd never give up either cutting grass or caring for his mower. "You can wear a mask when you clean and make sure to dispose of the rags you use. __You can work outside, or install an industrial grade ventilator in your garage. __Besides everything else, th__os__e __fluids are__ flammable."_

_He nodded. "I guess I can do that." A grin spread across the bottom of his face. "I thought you was gonna tell me to quit."_

_"As long as you're hale and hearty, I don't see why you'd have to. But you want to stay that way, don't you?"_

_"Thanks, Doc."_

_It was so unusual for a patient to thank me, I didn't know how to respond. All I could say was, "You can thank me by following my advice. My team will get you up and running again by tomorrow morning." I turned and made a hasty exit._

_For once I had a patient who wasn't connected in any way to the Molino mystery. But I was ready to get back to it. __All the little threads were coming together, __although__ the picture they formed wasn't at all what I originally thought. __I was missing__ a few more pieces of the puzzle. __Who was left for me to tap for information?_

_I spied Cuddy down the hall talking to one of the pulmonologists, and dashed down another corridor to avoid her. She'd only get after me again to talk to Marcello. I'd gotten all I could out of him the last time we chatted. On the other hand..._

_On the chance that Ricky was visiting Marisa again, I headed for her room __instead of my office__. Sure enough, he sat at her bedside, holding her hand. I nearly gagged at the way they were eying each other. _

_As the door slid open, they both looked my way. "Good afternoon, folks. Hope you're having a good day."_

_"Marisa was just telling me Dr. Wilson will be releasing her on Monday. Isn't that great news?" Ricky was beaming. _

_"__Super." I kept the sarcasm out of my voice. "Uh, if you can tear yourself away from her for a minute, I'd like a word."_

_He glanced at Marisa, who nodded. "Sure. Marisa, I'll be right back." He followed me into the hall. "Can we do this here, or did you want to go someplace more private?"_

_Nurses and orderlies scurried by, intent on their work. I pointed to a bench and we both sat down._

_"So? What's this about?" __he asked._

_"I know you said you had no idea why Molino has a vendetta against your family, but you also said you'd seen his wife at the car place. That you admired her from afar, but never really met her."_

_Ricky nodded. _

_"When you saw her, who was she with?"_

_"With? How should I know who they were. I assumed they were salesmen and customers. Certainly none of them were people I knew."_

_"Was that the only place you ever saw Francesca? Don't answer until you think about that a while." I sat back against the wall behind the bench and waited. _

_He scratched the side of his neck as he pondered. His eyes went wide and he smiled. "I saw her once at a restaurant. __Bennet's maybe. She was with a few other people, again none I knew. Although..."_

_"Although wha__t?"_

_"I was there with my grandfather. He seemed interested in them."_

_"So we're back to your grandfather, who hasn't been the most forthcoming per__son on the planet."_

_Ricky laughed. "He never i__s."_

_"What do you know ab__out his relationship with Johnny Berto__li?"_

_"Bertoli?" He shrugged. "They've been friends forever."_

_"I know Bertoli was at your mother's funera__l."_

_"Was he? I didn't notice anyone. That may have been one of the hardest days of my life, harder than my accident and the time right after it." __He ran a hand through his hair. _

_"Have you had any dealings with Bertoli?"_

_He aimed his thumb at his chest. "Me? He's my grandfather's friend. I barely know __the guy__."_

_"Okay, getting back to the people who were with Francesca. Can you describe any of them?"_

_He looked down. When he picked up his head, he shook it. "__Sorry. __Just two men and one other woman. Wait. The woman was oriental, I think. The guys were just guys." He shrugged. "No, I couldn't describe them."_

_"And that was the only time you saw her besides the car place?"_

_"Yes. Why is she important?"_

_"She may be the key, but every time I pursue anything about her, it leads nowhere." __I glanced around.__ "Go on back to your girlfriend."_

_"I wish __she was__."_

_"Don't you think s__o__? Marisa likes you, you know," I teased._

_"We'll see what happens once she's released from the hospital."_

_"Oh, I don't know whether anyone told you, but they're planning a welcome home party for her at the Black Keys next week. It's a surprise, so don't go blabbing to Marisa."_

_"A party." He grinned. "She'll love it." He stood and limped back to her room._

_There was nothing else to do but tackle Tony. For his own safety and that of his family, he should want to cooperate. No, I had no authority to do anything, but if he had those last few pieces, maybe I could help them. And I'd solve the puzzle._

_I went back to my office and found his number. The __woman__ who answered was pleasant enough, said she'd give him the message, but he was out of the office and she didn't know when he'd return._

_The call left me with a sense of dissatisfaction. I wasn't going to sit by the phone and wait, not when I could get in the car and drive to his office and wait there._

_No matter how many times I visited Tony Locarno, I was always amazed at how elegant the interior of the building, and particularly his offices. They made his son and nephew's suite look shabby even though it wasn't._

_The receptionist looked up as I walked through the double glass doors. "Dr. House, isn't it?"_

_"You remembered. How sweet."_

_"I did tell you that Mr. Locarno was out." __She scowled at me._

_"Yes, you did, but it was lonely waiting in my office for him to call back, so I thought I'd wait here instead. __W__ith you."_

_She frowned, then sighed. "Have a seat. Can I get you some coffee? I'm afraid you'll be here a while."_

_I plopped into one of the buttery leather armchairs. "Coffee would be peachy." I picked up a recent issue of Yachting Magazine and flipped through it. Photos of the rich and famous stared back at me, grinning and waving pastel colored drinks, against a background of blue sea and huge white boats. _

_The coffee was served in real china cups from a silver serving set. There was nothing accompanying it, though, not even those little cucumber sandwich triangles with the bread crust cut off._

_I'd finished the entire pot before Locarno showed up. He wasn't alone. Lo and behold, my good friend Johnny Bertoli was with HIS good friend Tony Locarno._

_"House!" Bertoli grinned at me. "__What are you doing here?" _

_"Oh, drinking coffee and reading about how the __cruising rich__ of the world live."_

_The receptionist spoke up. "Dr. House was waiting to see Mr. Locarno. He didn't have an appointment."_

_Bertoli was still smiling, but Locarno stared at me. "You may as well come into my office."_

_We did an after-you-no-after-you shuffle through the inner door, then marched down to the end room off the corridor. Locarno's office occupied a corner of the building with a commanding view of one of the better parts of Princeton. __Lots of green trees and a pond dominated the scene._

_"What's this about?" Locarno demanded._

_"Did you know Francesca Molino?" I still thought she was the key._

_"I knew of her."_

_"Who were the people with her the day you and Ricky saw her at Bennet's? Your grandson says you were very interested in them." _

_There was a flicker of a response, but he quickly resumed his neutral expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_"I think you do." He might not tell me, so I switched subjects. "What do you know about Peter Giordano's relationship with Carlo Molino?"_

_That time he couldn't hide his response. "I told you before, Giordano is a two-bit player. Not worth my attention. If he's associated with Molino, that's his problem."_

_"Problem?"_

_"Carlo Molino is a thug. Heavy-handed. A __teppista." He spit it out. "We haven't been able to keep him out of New Jersey, but we have limited his operations here."_

_"We?"_

_Locarno looked at Bertoli, who answered. "Several of us are actively policing who does business where in the state. Trying to keep things as clean as possible."_

_"And the two of you head that group?"_

_They both nodded. _


	159. Chapter 159

_This story is now over 240,000 words. I'm hoping to wrap it up by 250 K. Meanwhile._

_**Chapter 159.**_

_It was possible that Molino's beef with __the __Locarno__s__ was due to __Tony's__ efforts and __those of __his friends to keep Molino's operation in New Jersey to a minimum, but I didn't think so. Still, before I left Locarno's office, I told them, "I understand that the fruit company trucks will be used for a special delivery Saturday."_

_Again they looked at each other. "We hadn't heard that. Thank you for the information, Doctor." Molino stood behind his mahogany desk, indicating that I should go. _

_He walked me out without another word. I hadn't learned much from him, certainly not the kinds of things I'd hoped for. _

_I drove back to hospital slowly, deep in thought about what other options I had. Those flickers of interest I saw when I spoke to Locarno told me he knew a lot more than he was revealing. But there was nothing I could do to make him talk._

_I'd failed, at least for now. Perhaps I should turn my attention to other things until I had another flash of inspiration._

_Cuddy was lying in wait outside my office. Luckily I spotted her and was able to avoid her again. Whatever she wanted from Marcello, I wasn't going to be the one to approach him for her. _

_Where could I go to hide from her? There weren't many places in the hospital to escape, but I hadn't been to the roof in a long time._

_Unfortunately, someone else was already there. What would Jess' father be doing up on the hospital roof? I stood behind the air conditioner vent and waited. Before long, someone joined him. _

_The man looked familiar, but I didn't place him at first. He and Giordano spoke softly and only one word in three reached me, but they seemed to be talking about a delivery of some kind. Did it have something to do with the __one I knew would use the __Bernini trucks?_

_I snapped my fingers, then hoped they hadn't heard me, but neither of them looked my way. The man was Giancarlo Bernini, so it was likely something to do with the Saturday job Petey told me about. Why were they discussing it here? _

_I thought back to Giordano's bid to sit on the board. Instead, Marcello took that seat, so he had no connection to the hospital. __Had Molino put him up to it in the first place? What would they want with the hospital except the cache of respectability?_

_The two men spoke for about ten minutes. __Giordano left first. Bernini soon followed. I could pursue one or the other, but what for? __For no tangible reason, I followed Jess' father. I hadn't heard back yet from Bev about the meeting. Still, I had a feeling something was imminent, something I wouldn't like._

_He got into his car but didn't drive off immediately. That gave me time to get mine so I could follow him at a discrete distance when he did. I thought about my first meeting with him in Dorsey. He'd been such a big fish in that little pond, but now he was playing with the big boys. Of course, he had Molino's help. _

_I pursued him toward downtown and was surprised when he parked not far from the building I'd visited earlier, the one housing Locarno's office. He appeared to be heading that way. I sat in my car, __tapping a finger on my steering wheel,__ until he entered the building. __T__hen __I __strode to the entrance. Watching through the glass doors, I saw him get on the elevator. Once he __had,__ I entered the marble-floored lobby. The elevator stopped at Locarno's floor. Now what was Papa Giordano up to? There was only one way to find out._

_I pressed the button for the elevator. Both were on high floors, but eventually one descended to the lobby. I entered and took it up to Locarno's office. _

_My pal, the receptionist, looked surprised to see me again. "Something I forgot to tell Mr. Locarno," I told her. _

_"Have a seat. He's with a...client."_

_I took the same chair I'd spent time in earlier. The magazines hadn't changed, so I stared at the receptionist until she got up and brought me some more coffee. __Thre was s__till nothing with it._

_When Locarno emerged half an hour later, Giordano wasn't with him. I wondered where he'd stashed him. "Dr. House, twice in one day?" The annoyance in his voice was nothing new to me. _

_I was annoyed myself. "Where's your visitor?"_

_His body jerked. "How did you know..."_

_"Your receptionist told me."_

_Locarno relaxed. "Yes, well, my 'visitor' as you called him, is with an associate. I thought __you and I__ were finished with our discussion."_

_I looked around the reception area. No one else there, but it was quite open. "Maybe we'd better do this in your office."_

_"I can assure you, Doctor, that anything you say here would require privacy." The steel in his voice matched that in his spine._

_"Mr. Locarno, I'm only trying to help your family. If you don't want my help..." I shrugged and turned to go. _

_"Wait. Alright, follow me." He led me back to the corner office. The other doors along the hallway were closed, so there was no indication where Giordano __might be, if he was actually still there__. "What did you want to tell me that would keep my family safer than they are now?"_

_When he put it that way, I wasn't sure. Still, I had to try. "Did Giordano tell you about his meeting with Bernini? Or about the plan to use Bernini's trucks tomorrow?"_

_He studied me through narrowed eyes. Was he debating with himself about what he could or should tell me? Finally he sighed, as if he'd come to a conclusion. "What do you know about the fruit company?"_

_Maybe if I told him all I knew, he'd level with me. "It ostensibly belongs to Bernini, but very likely belongs to Molino. They deliver fruit to restaurants and other establishments in town." I stopped to let that sink in. "For a while, Mike Morgan was one of the drivers until I confronted him at the Black Keys. Soon after he rammed his truck through the plate glass windows of the place."_

_Locarnos eyes showed his increased interest, but the rest of his face was impassive._

_Smiling, I went on. "The truck was repaired at Molino's place out on Old Trenton Road. Petey Giordano picked it up earlier today." __Laughing inside at his reaction to every word I said, I still kept some of what I knew to myself. "__He's the one who informed me that t__he drivers were told there'd be a special shipment for them to pickup and deliver tomorrow, but Petey didn't know yet what it was, or even the locations."_

_He nodded slightly._

_"I also saw your pal Giordano meeting with Giancarlo Bernini, the same man who attacked your grandson a couple of weeks ago. Why they picked the hospital roof, I don't know. Perhaps he told you."_

_That got a stronger reaction. "Giordano is no friend of mine. __I'm sure I told you that before. __He was here to ask for my cooperation to allow him to open his restaurant."_

_"You know Beverly Windermaker is working there. __Bertoli's daughter,__" __I added although I was certain he knew that._

_"Yes." His smile had a bitter edge to it. "You are full of information, aren't you, Doctor?"_

_"Like you, I know people and I get around." I'd processed what he said about Giordano by then. "What did you tell Giordano?"_

_"That I don't do business with Molino or his associates." He guffawed. "He tried to convince me he had no ties to Carlo. When I didn't buy it, he left."_

_"I didn't see him." I tapped my cane twice._

_"There's another entrance to the offices. I let him out that way. It prevented him from learning any more about my company than he already knew."_

_"So he was fishing for information."_

_"I expect so. Just as you are."_

_"Except I have you and your family's interests at heart."_

_He smirked. "My son and grandson have good things to say about you and your girlfriend. Tell me, her relationship with her father..."_

_"Is nonexistent," I finished for him. "Rather, it's strained. It's been hard for her to accept the fact that he__'__s tied to Molino and the things he does. Like kidnapping her and her sister. But she had difficulties with him before that."_

_"__And this Petey Giordano, he's the son, no?"_

_"Yes. Petey has had an even worse relationship with his father than Jess and Nina. He's given up on trying to get Papa Giordano to approve of him. Like his sisters, though, he's unhappy to learn what his father's been up to."_

_Locarno picked up a pen and started __twisting it in his fingers__. He dropped the pen and said, "I don't know what Giordano or Molino are up to now, but it can't be anything positive. What do you suggest we do?"_

_"With Bev positioned at Giordano's new restaurant and Petey driving for Bernini, I think we should wait and see what they can find out before __you or I make a __move. You and Bertoli have resources we can use, right?" I stared at him until he spoke again._

_"Yes, I suppose you might say that."_

_"Then you should do whatever you think would keep your families safe and at the same time thwart any plans Molino has for this city and all of New Jersey." One thing was clear to me and I hoped he realized it, too. "He's no longer content __to have__ a few __small __businesses here. __Unlike Giordano, he knows how to play with the big boys.__"_

_Locarno nodded. "I believe we see the same picture, Doctor." He stood. "Thank you for coming back and telling me what you know." _

_Although I'm not one to desire the touch of other people, I stood as well and took his outstretched hand. There was a strength in it, consistent with the man himself._

_He walked me through the corridor to the reception area. "If I learn anything else, I'll be sure to let you know." _

_"Same here." __I took the elevator down and strolled to my car. Did we have a fair exchange of information? Maybe not quite, but I got the feeling he finally trusted me, and that was a big step. _

_When I returned to the hospital, I decided to try a new avenue. I went directly to Cuddy's office and pushed through the door without knocking. "So what are you so fired up about me telling Marcello Locarno?"_

_She stared at me for a minute as if she couldn't believe I was standing there, willing to do what she asked. "There's a board vote in a few days. Several people, including one of the doctors, want to cut back on the amount we're spending on the medical school classes. And the way they propose to do that, is to hire less experienced lecturers and demand that all of our doctors teach." She crossed her arms, daring me to say they were right._

_But how could I, when I, __for one, would hate to have to teach._


	160. Chapter 160

_We arrived home after the holiday weekend away, so I can post this only two days late._

_**Chapter 160.**_

_As I strolled to my office, I thought about the approach to take with Marcello. I didn't think he'd have a problem supporting Cuddy with the board, but you never knew. Cuddy still didn't know about his relationship with Bev, at least I hadn't told her. At the same time, I wanted to __warn him about what was going down Saturday morning__. _

_The light on my office phone was blinking. Before I called Marcello, I scrolled through the list of callers. The only __message__ I was interested in was __from __Bev. __Smiling, I called her back._

_"Hello, Dr. House. Sorry I didn't call earlier __today."_

_"I've been in and out most of the day."_

_"Giordano canceled the meeting, or rather postponed it to Saturday morning."_

_"That's interesting." I wondered what it meant._

_She lowered her voice. "I don't want anyone to hear me." __She paused.__ "__My boss__ just returned from somewhere and he was in a foul mood."_

_"I know where he's been. Listen, Bev, I'd steer clear of him __for __the rest of today, but make sure you're at that meeting, and then call me as soon as it's over."_

_"Sure. What do you think it's about?" she asked._

_"All I know is that the Bernini trucks are being used tomorrow for some kind of pickup and delivery. The meeting may be related."_

_"Could they be bringing the furniture for the restaurant?"_

_"I doubt it's something that benign, but it is possible." Could it be that simple? I didn't think so. "On another topic, you heard they're springing your sister on Monday."_

_"Yes, she called and told me." Her voice was much more cheerful, besides being louder. "Guess we'll have to get moving on that party for her."_

_"I told Ricky about it. He's volunteered to help, but I told him to talk to Jess. No need for him to talk to you. Someone might tumble to the fact that you know the Locarnos."_

_She chuckled. __"From what she told me, Marlene will be thrilled to have him there."_

_I thought a minute. __"Probably the best way for Jess to contact you __about the shindig __would be for her to drop in on her father to see how his restaurant is doing."_

_"For the same reason, huh? Yes, as far as Mr. G. is concerned, I know nothing and nobody." She laughed._

_"I have to call your boyfriend now about hospital business."_

_"Tell him...maybe I better wait until I can speak to him myself."_

_I laughed and closed the connection, __then punched in Marcello's number. _

_"Dr. House?"_

_"Who else would be calling you from my number?"_

_"What's up?"_

_"Aside from the fact that I just talked to your girlfriend, and before that I visited your father, twice __today__, not much."_

_A pause. "What did you talk to Bev about?"_

_I smiled. __"It's interesting you're more interested in that than in what you__r__ papa said."_

_He chuckled. "I know you'll tell me __even if I don't ask__."_

_"My conversation with Bev was about her new boss and the party for her sister."_

_Another pause. "That's it? What about her boss, and when is Marlene going to be released?"_

_It was my turn to laugh. "Her boss rescheduled a meeting with his staff for tomorrow morning and coincidentally, there's a special shipment that will require the use of Bernini Fruit Company trucks. By the way, that was one of the things I discussed with your father."_

_"What does he have to do with it all?"_

_"Giordano approached him __to allow his restaurant to open. He ostensibly wants approval from your father and his cronies."_

_"But he's tied to Molin__o." __He sounded surprised._

_"He denied i__t."_

_"What did my father tell __him?"_

_"__That he'll have nothing to do with any business associated with Molino."_

_Marcello sighed. "I feel a little guilty now, finding the property Giordano is using for his restaurant. But he's Jess' father."_

_I knew how he felt. "Jess and I were the ones to steer him your way in the first place. We all have moves we regret."_

_"Well, what's done is done. How's Bev?"_

_Back to her again. I smiled __once more__. He had it bad. "She sounded fine. I think she actually likes working on the restaurant."_

_"That's good. I just wish she hadn't agreed to spy on Giordano."_

_"After the year or so she spent with Molino, it's probably a piece of cake for her."_

_"Maybe. What were you saying earlier about the party for Marlene?" he asked._

_"She'll leave the hospital on Monday. Jess will probably set up the party for Tuesday evening."_

_"I wish I could be there." __He sounded wistful. Time to change the subject._

_"Cuddy says you're not returning her calls."_

_He sighed. __"That woman is a cougar."_

_"She's not that much older than you. Five, ten years."_

_"But she's persistent."_

_"Yes, I've noticed. Actually, she wants you to support her during the board meeting next week. For once I agree with her position. Cutting the costs of the school is a bad idea to begin with, but doing it by forcing the hospital's doctors to teach is worse."_

_He chuckled. "Because that would mean you'd have to. You're probably an excellent teacher, the kind young doctors can get a lot from."_

_"I have enough with my Fellows. I don't need a lecture hall full of idiots."_

_"Then how else do you think the hospital can cut costs?" he asked._

_"Instead of that, they should go for increased funding. There are some deep pockets they can tap. Like your father."_

_"He already contributes sizable amounts, but I understand your viewpoint." He hesitated before going on. "Okay, I'll give Cuddy a call and offer my support. But on one condition: you make sure she doesn't take it as a tacit invitation to pursue me."_

_"Just tell her you're taken," I suggested._

_"I can't tell her about Bev. At least not yet."_

_Even though my original plan was to get Cuddy and Marcello together, I had to admit it hadn't been one of my better ideas. "I'll do what I can to keep her from attacking you." I'd have to find someone else for her. "Well, I guess my mission is complete. See you around, Marcello."_

_"Ciao, Doctor."_

_I wasn't ready to run to Cuddy to let her know he'd call__ her__. First I had to find someone to take her mind off Marcello. Now when had I taken up matchmaking? Not that I was too bad at it._

_I was musing about my next steps when I sensed someone in my doorway. The only one less expected was Morgan, but he was next on the list._

_"Mr. G. You must like this place."_

_"What do you mean?" Giordano seemed to be thrown by the question._

_"You were here earlier, up on the roof." I watched his face to see his reaction._

_He didn't disappoint. A scowl accompanied by a glare. "What do you know about that?"_

_"You and Bernini have plans for tomorrow." I knew I shouldn't be disclosing how much I knew, but maybe it would get him to __give__ me more details and I wouldn't have to wait for his son to report. If it was an innocent delivery, he'd relax. If not..._

_He strode toward me, invading my space. "You keep your nose out of this, or __Bernini will__ come after you."_

_"Your daughter wouldn't like that." I kept my voice as calm as possible, although I knew what Giancarlo Bernini could do._

_He shrugged. "She'd find someone else."_

_"You really are working with Molino. Not because he has a hold on you. You're as ruthless as he is." __I stood to face him, nose to nose._

_"You don't know anything, Dr. House. Locarno and his cohorts think they can run things in this town, in this state, but they don't have the organization or the __discipline to continue for long." __He sneered at me._

_I sneered right back. __"I'm glad your children have been able to get out from under your __thumb__. Jess no longer wants or needs your approval. She and Nina are about to prove they can be successful without you."_

_He shook his head slowly. "That won't last either. When we take over __this town__, every business in Princeton will be under our control."_

_"Not gonna happen."_

_He ignored me. __"And when we control this hospital, guess who'll be the first doctor who's fired."_

_"__You don't scare me." I could only hope they didn't have the clout to do it. As much as I disliked having to put up with Cuddy, I knew few other hospitals would be as tolerant of some of my shenanigans. _

_"Oh, don't I?"_

_"I don't think you realize the resistance you'd get if you tried to expand Molino's influence. Locarno alone has been able to limit him. He's got lots of influential friends in this state and the support of many more. Molino doesn't even live here. If you're his idea of a front man, his judgment is questionable."_

_"__Molino's been working __on this __for years. He has much more of a foothold in New Jersey than you or Locarno think." His smile was almost sinister. "I'd watch myself if I were you, Doctor." He turned and walked away._

_I tried to have the last word. "What are you going to do? Send Mike Morgan to crash a truck into my car? He'll have to come out of the woodwork first."_

_He turned back to say, "Morgan is the least of your worries." Then he continued out the door._

_I had an uneasy feeling. Were there precautions I should take? What could he or Bernini do to me? Was he going to try to get to me through Jess? I'd have to warn her._

_At least now I knew for certain that he was firmly tied to Molino and what their plans were. I'd have to break the news to Jess. Her mixed feelings for her father were about to get a severe blow. _

_She was probably busy with last minute details for the first catering job. Should I disturb her? __I punched in her number. __If nothing else, I had to warn her. _

_"__Hi, Greg. I'm kinda busy right now, but for you I think I can take five or ten minutes." She sounded breathless. I could hear lots of voices in the background._

_Since I didn't have much time, I told her about her father first. "Your papa just left."_

_Was she alerted by my tone of voice? __"Why was he there?" she asked._

_"He came to warn me to stay out of his business and Molino's."_

_She sighed. "How deep is his involvement?" __Her voice was resigned._

_"Deep. Listen, I was going to suggest you go to see his restaurant so you could talk to Bev, but after his warning, I think you should stay away from him. Far away."_

_"__I hear you. But w__hat did you want me to talk to Bev about?"_

_"The party for Marisa. With Wilson releasing her Monday, Tuesday may be the best day for the party, but that doesn't give you much time to plan. Oh, and Ricky wants to help." She didn't answer right away, so I said, "Jess?"_

_"Sorry, I'm still absorbing the fact that my father would actually come to you and warn you to stay out of his business."_

_"Well, I kind of provoked him by letting him know I'd seen him plotting with Bernini earlier."_

_"__He was?" She didn't sound surprised. "__Why'd you __tell him__? No, don't answer. You wanted to see his reaction. Well, I guess you got one. So, now how do I contact Bev? And more important, how are we going to protect ourselves?"_


	161. Chapter 161

_It was a struggle with the short week, but I was able to write another chapter._

_Hope you enjoy._

_**Chapter 161.**_

_I couldn't answer Jess because I didn't know how we could protect ourselves if Bernini came after us. We didn't have bodyguards like the Locarnos. __Neither of us was trained in any way to deal with physical attacks. My only weapon was my mind. I knew all about medicine, about diagnosing patients. They say the tongue is mightier than the sword, and I could sure use mine, and had, to slay opponents. But somehow I didn't think that would work this time._

_"I guess we have to surround ourselves with people who can protect us." I knew it was lame when I said it._

_"And who do you know who can do that?" Was that fear in her voice? Had I put both of us in real danger?_

_"Let me work on that angle. You have enough to deal with for tomorrow night."_

_"Alright." __She didn't sound convinced. "__I'll be with Nina and our staff, not that any of them have experience in __hand-to-hand __combat, but __at least __I won't be alone."_

_"Good. I'll let you know if I come up with something." I was already running through the people I knew in my head when I ended the phone call. Could I ask Marcello and Ricky to loan me some of their bodyguards? It might have to come to that._

_First I'd find out who on my team could help. Foreman probably had contacts, but what about the others? As much as I knew about them all, there were some things I didn't know._

_With lawnmower guy diagnosed, we didn't have a patient again. I didn't have to go far to find __mos__t of my team. Chase, Foreman and Thirteen sat in the conference room, arguing about something. Normally I'd find out what it was and tell them they were all wrong, but I was on a mission. _

_I slammed my cane on the table to get their attention. "Which one of you wants to play secret service man?"_

_Foreman rolled his eyes and sneered. "What kind of game is that?" _

_"Jess and I might need a little...uh, protection for a few days. I need a volunteer." I glared back at Foreman._

_"So you finally made someone mad enough at you that you're in physical danger?" Foreman grinned. "Well, it's about time."_

_"__Why would someone be after both of you?" Thirteen asked, __then sneered at Foreman__. "Jess never did anything to anyone."_

_"She's about to become a success without her father's help. He's lost his control of her and his other children, and I don't think he likes that very much."_

_"__So it's Giordano who's coming after you?" __Chase shook his head. "That wouldn't be enough to cause him to retaliate."_

_"Oh, no? Ask your girlfriend what she thinks. He's a vindictive bastard, almost as bad as Mike Morgan."_

_"What does this have to do with him?" Foreman's smile had disappeared._

_I shook my head. __"He's probably out of the picture, at least for a while, but he's not the only thug working for Molino."_

_"I didn't even know Morgan worked for him." Thirteen looked confused. "House, __you're not making sense. W__hy don't you tell us what happened that has you needing a bodyguard."_

_I told them about Giordano's visit and his ties to Molino as well as all I knew about Bernini._

_Foreman shook his head. "You really did it this time. Why can't you keep your nose out of other people's business? What made this your fight?"_

_"They kidnapped Jess, or don't you remember that? Morgan crashed his own truck into Chase's car, and then __he used __a Bernini Fruit Company truck __to trash the front window of__ the place where Marisa works. I think that's enough."_

_Thirteen stretched her arms out. "Since we don't have a patient, I'd be willing to babysit Jess and Nina."_

_"Why am I not surprised, but do you think you're a match for Bernini?" __I asked._

_She grinned. "I __can __charm him into submission. I also have a gun."_

_"You do?" Foreman's eyes went wide._

_"A girl can't be too careful." She smirked at her former lover._

_"I think I know a guy who'd gladly protect you," Chase told me. "Remember the wrestler we diagnosed a few months ago?"_

_"__Blood clot guy? Yeah. Don't tell me you've kept in touch with him." I wasn't really surprised. __Each member of my team had formed attachments to former patients._

_Chase just smiled. "I'll give you his number."_

_So, Jess and I might be taken care of, but what about Bev? If Giordano ever learned that she was actually Bertoli's daughter, what would he do? And then there was Petey. Driving for Bernini wasn't the safest place for him, but maybe being Giordano's son, he'd be okay._

_"When did you start thinking about anyone else's safety?" Foreman asked._

_Had I been thinking aloud about Bev and Petey? Or had he made a lucky guess?_

_"I think it started with Christopher and Ellie," Chase replied for me._

_"I pick and choose who I worry about." What else could I say?_

_Thirteen smirked. "That let's us out."_

_I scratched the back of my neck. __She was right. "Do you know where Jess and Nina's office is?"_

_A crease formed between her eyes. __"You mean you want me to go now?"_

_"Sure, why not?"_

_She __shrugged, __got up, grabbed her things and left. _

_"I'll go call Edgar." I held out my hand so Chase could give me his number._

_He found a sheet of paper and wrote it down. "I'm surprised you remembered his name."_

_"It wasn't easy to forget." I limped back to my office and called. When he answered, I said, "Mr. Allen? This is Dr. House."_

_"How are you, Doc?"_

_"I'm fine. How are you?" I rolled my eyes as we exchanged pleasantries. "No more blood clots?"_

_"Not that I know of. How can I help you?" he asked._

_How could I explain in as few words as possible? "I need a bodyguard for a few days, and I thought of you."_

_"Who's after you?" It was an obvious question, __but coming in his booming voice, I was intimidated__._

_"Some __mobsters__ who are trying to muscle into the central New Jersey area. __They don't like the idea that I might know what they're up to."_

_"Mobsters, huh? Well, I'm your guy if the money's right."_

_I hadn't thought about how much to offer. "What's your price?"_

_He didn't hesitate. __"__Fifty bucks an hour."_

_That sounded steep. Maybe he'd take less. "Thirty-five."_

_"You're kidding, right? You need me, so I set the price. How about forty-five?"_

_"Forty-two fifty." I had to haggle or he'd think he could hit me up for more when he was through._

_This time h__e __paused__. "Alright. When do I start?"_

_"How about right now? I'm in my office at the hospital and there are lots of people around, but we've had our share of hostage situations."_

_"Yeah, I read about that." So, the guy could read and count past ten. He was smarter than I thought. "I'll be there in forty minutes. Gotta make a couple of calls first."_

_"Are you planning on telling anyone about this?" I hoped he didn't have ties to Giordano or Molino._

_"Only my girl, Cheryl. She runs a fitness center over on Maple. Gotta tell her we'll have to postpone dinner tonight."_

_I hadn't thought about food for almost an hour. "Where were you going?"_

_"She likes this place call the Melting Pot?" __He chuckled.__ "Never thought I'd like that fondu stuff until I tried it."_

_I had to laugh. "If you wouldn't mind a double date, you can still take her and I'll bring my...my friend. She likes that place, too."_

_"Then I'll tell Cheryl to meet us there at six-thirty."_

_"See you soon."_

_Chase's suggestion was turning out to be better than I thought. I called Jess to make sure she didn't have other plans for us. She was happy to learn we were going to Bertoli's place, __but even happier that I'd come up with protection for both of us, and her sister, too__. _

_When Edgar showed up, I smiled. He was bigger than I remembered. "I'm glad you called, Doc. I'm having a hard time finding work. The wrestling circuit has way too many guys ready to go into the ring, and no one wants to hire a guy with a degree in History." __He was full of surprises._

_"Where'd you go to school?" _

_"Got my undergraduate at Rutgers. It was all I could afford. Took some graduate courses, but I could tell getting a masters wouldn't help me get work. Maybe I shoulda gone into medicine like you."_

_"__Did you wrestle in college?" I asked._

_"Yeah, I was on the wrestling team. It was either that or football." He looked around my office. "Nice digs."_

_"__Have a seat." I pointed my cane at the visitors chair on the other side of my desk._

_Once he did, he said, "So tell me who's after you and why."_

_I gave him the full story. From the way he listened and the questions he asked, I could tell he was intrigued by the situation._

_"These guys don't mess around, do they?"_

_"No. And now I'm in a situation where I have to defend myself rather than figure out why Molino has a vendetta against the Locarnos."_

_Edgar nodded. "I think Molino's deceased wife is a dead end, pardon the pun. He seems more interested in his business dealings and in gaining a foothold in New Jersey."_

_"Yes, that's becoming more and more obvious."_

_"When did Tony Locarno come to this country?"_

_"He was a young man and he came from a different part of Italy." I shook my head. "I'm convinced this doesn't have anything to do with ancient history between the families."_

_"__Okay, then, when did Molino start his car businesses here?"_

_I smiled. That was something I'd never checked. Edgar Allen was turning out to be much more than a bodyguard. "I hadn't looked into when." I started a search on each of the two shops. The first, the one on Old Trenton Road, had been started eight years ago, soon after Molino prevented Locarno from starting a business in Palermo._

_Sitting back in my chair, I smiled. Maybe we were on to something, thanks to my new friend._


	162. Chapter 162

_Here's another chapter. Thanks for reading and leaving great comments._

_**Chapter 162.**_

_Edgar Allen's comments had me t__hinking. __What kind of business had Locarno tried to start in Sicily? And why there? __Other parts of Italy might have been easier to penetrate. No, it couldn't be that. __Molino's __actions against him__ went beyond keeping him from moving into Molino's territory. He'__d__ countered __Lucarno's__ attempt by beginning a slow incursion into Locarno's._

_Was it just a matter of controlling all the commerce in one area, or was there more? I'd never been a businessman and didn't know much about how they operated. But there was one person who might fill me in, and we'd be seeing him tonight._

_"Doc? You kinda zoned out there for a few minutes." Edgar's booming voice brought me out of my thoughts._

_"I was thinking about the questions we could ask Bertoli tonight."_

_His brows drew together. "Bertoli?"_

_"The owner of the Melting Pot. I guess I never mentioned that he was connected to Locarno."_

_"No, you didn't." Edgar smirked. "I'm sure there are lots of things you left out when you told me what was going on."_

_I nodded. "There's lots more and a few key players you should know about." I knew I could trust him, so I told him about Bev, about Petey, and about Locarno's son and grandchildren. "Tina Locarno works at the Melting Pot and so does her boyfriend, Julio Curci. He used to work for Molino, but now he's on our side."_

_Edgar chuckled. "So there's our side and theirs."_

_"Of course."_

_He glanced at his watch. "Did you want me to go home with you? I'd like to change my clothes before we go to the restaurant." He was wearing worn jeans and a Gold's gym t-shirt, __which he sniffed__. "__Definitely need to change this."_

_"We can stop at your place first, and then go on to ours. I don't know whether Thirteen will be there with Jess, but __since you'll be with us the rest of the night, I can send her home."_

_"Thirteen?"_

_"She works for me and volunteered to guard Jess."_

_"__Who names their kid Thirteen?"_

_"Her parents named her Remy. It's not much better."_

_"__Is she a doctor?"_

_"So she c__laims."_

_He let it drop. "So we'll go in about fifteen minutes?"_

_I nodded. "It's good that we don't take as long as women do to get dressed."_

_He laughed. "Sometimes I wonder what all they have to do in the bathroom. They look just fine when they go in, and not much different when they come out."_

_"So what kind of job are you looking for?"_

_"I was a salesman in a sporting goods store." He shook his head. "Retails not for me. People never know what they want and are unwilling to pay the prices the stores set. I tried working in the stockroom. They're always looking for big guys like me, but it was boring and the people I worked with couldn't string more than two words together. Those were my last two jobs."_

_I pointed to his T-shirt. "What about working in a gym?"_

_Edgar rolled his eyes. "Helping skinny women become skinnier or showing folks how to use the equipment properly and then watching them destroy it doesn't appeal to me." He held __up __a hand. "I know there are plenty of folks who are serious about exercising but unfortunately there are many more who play at it."_

_As we left, I told Chase and Foreman that I was going for the night. I didn't bother to thank Chase for suggesting Edgar, since it was obvious he was with me. _

_Edgar lived not far from the building where Julio's apartment was, but his place was much larger than the young Italian__'s__. I sat in his living room on a nondescript beige couch while he changed. It didn't take him long. He came out of his bedroom wearing a good pair of slacks and a tan shirt, open at the collar. He carried a herringbone sports jacket. _

_I smiled as we continued on to the condo. As expected, Jess was in the bedroom, getting ready, and her shadow was waiting for her. _

_"You're dismissed for the night," I told Thirteen. "Edgar can take care of both of us."_

_Thirteen nodded and called to Jess, "I'll see you tomorrow morning."_

_"You'll come with us to the party tomorrow night, won't you?" Jess said as she entered the room. She wore a striped knit maxi dress that showed off her curves and gave the impression that she wasn't wearing anything under it._

_I whistled. So did Thirteen before replying, "I'd love to." She glanced at me and left._

_Jess held out a hand. "You must be Edgar." She smiled at the big man. _

_My eyes narrowed, but I left them alone so I could get dressed. I chose navy slacks, a pale blue shirt that Jess liked, and my gray jacket, then put the jacket back and selected a tweed one._

_Edgar and Jess were chatting comfortably when I returned to the living room. They sat side-by-side on the couch. A little too friendly for my taste._

_I cleared my throat to get their attention. "Are we meeting your girlfriend there or picking her up?" I put extra emphasis on the word girlfriend._

_"She'll meet us there. Her place is near the restaurant." Edgar stood._

_Jess sat next to me in the car and our bodyguard sat in the back. I didn't think anything would happen that night, but we were going to Bertoli's restaurant. If we weren't targeted, Bertoli or Tina Locarno might be. Of course, her uncle had arranged for someone to guard her._

_Edgar's girlfriend waited outside the Melting Pot. She was a tall, slim woman with a mane of chestnut hair and bright green eyes._

_"__Cheryl__, this is Dr. House, the guy who diagnosed me when I had the blood clot," Edgar said. "And this is his girlfriend, Jess."_

_Cheryl scrunched up her pert nose. __"I thought your doctor's name was Chase." _

_I studied her. __"__I'm Dr. Chase's boss."_

_Jess put a hand on my arm and squeezed, then smiled at __Cheryl__. "He means he's the real brains behind the team."_

_I guessed she meant I should play nice. I had every intention of doing that. _

_Tina's face lit up when we entered the restaurant. "Table for four tonight, Dr. House?" She took four menus from the hostess stand. "Right this way." We followed her to one of the posher booths, and she placed a menu in front of each of us. "All set for tomorrow night, Jess?"_

_"Yes we are, Tina. And we'll be using food from here next weekend."_

_"Great. Well, your waiter will be right with you. Enjoy your meal."_

_"Do you eat here often?" __Cheryl__ was probably trying to figure out how we knew the hostess or rather how she knew us. "We've only been here two or three times before tonight."_

_We hadn't eaten here more than that, yet it seemed we'd spent a lot of time at The Melting Pot over recent weeks. "It's one of our favorites."_

_Before long our waiter appeared with ice water and took our drink orders. He was followed quickly by Bertoli himself._

_"Back again?" he asked._

_"Can't stay away." I wanted to talk to him in private, but that would have to wait. Meanwhile I said, "Edgar's here to guard our backs."_

_Bertoli's eyes narrowed. "This I gotta hear."_

_"I had a visit from Jess' father today, and it wasn't a social call."_

_"Bev's not in any danger, is she?" He frowned._

_"I'm pretty sure __Giordano__ doesn't know who she is."_

_He nodded, but the frown hadn't left his face. "Guess things are coming to a head."_

_"Yeah, but I still don't know what started this."_

_"__Come to my office before you leave tonight." He forced a smile. "Nice to see you again, Jess." He nodded at Edgar and __Cheryl__. "__Welcome back to the Melting Pot."_

_"Who's Bev?" __Cheryl__ honed in on the important part of what Bertoli said._

_So many possible answers. I decided to keep it simple. "She's our mole in Giordano's operation. Her sister used to be my patient." I felt Jess' eyes on me, and hoped she didn't add anything. I trusted Edgar, but he __might share what he knew with his girlfriend__. To forestall any more talk, I threaded my meat on a skewer and cooked it._

_We were busy for a while eating the delicious food. I finished before the rest. Normally, I'd steal some of Jess' dinner. Instead, I said, "Excuse me for a few minutes. I'll be back right away." Without waiting for anyone to reply, I stood and headed for Bertoli's office. _

_Julio looked up when I entered. "Hi, Doc. I heard you and Jess were here."_

_"Let me guess. Tina, right?"_

_"Of course. So, what's up?"_

_I told him all I said to Bertoli earlier. "Just waiting for your boss so __I __can have a word."_

_"Oh, did you want me to leave?" __Julio started to rise._

_"No, no, stay right there. __You should hear all of this, too. Maybe you'll have some i__nsight__s __or__ know something that will help.__"_

_Bertoli joined us and closed the door behind himself. "So, what else did you want to talk about?"_

_"__I thought you wanted to see me." I stared at him._

_"Nah, I just don't want your friends to hear whatever you want to discuss."_

_"I'm trying to piece together the sequence of events. Locarno went to Palermo to open a business a while back, right?"_

_He nodded. "Molino didn't take kindly to that, so Tony moved the operation to Naples instead."_

_"Why Palermo in the first place and Naples after that?" I thought of what I knew about business centers in Italy. "Why not, say, Rome, __Milan __or Bologn__a__?"_

_Bertoli shrugged. "For some reason he has a soft spot for the southern part of the country."_

_"But he's from the north, isn't he?" __I asked._

_"Yes, __like me__. You'd probably have to ask him wh__y __he likes southern Italy so much__."_

_"Okay, so instead of Sicily, he turned his attention to Naples. Did you know him the__n?"_

_"Of course. We've known each other forev__er."_

_I tapped my cane twice. __"Did he know when Molino opened his two car shops in New Jersey?"_

_He nodded. "Tony laughed about it. Calle__d him a pipsqueak, a gnat."_

_"But he didn't crush h__im."_

_"Nah. As long as Molino stuck to those two shops, he was no concern of To__ny's."_

_"What about the fruit compa__ny?"_

_"That's a recent addition. But it still doesn't have my friend worried. Even Giordano's restaurant." He grinned. "Molino thinks he's making inroads, but he doesn't know how far-reaching Tony Locarno's control is. He'll find out."_

_"Molino might resort to violence. Julio can probably tell us how he operates in __Palermo."_

_Julio grimaced. "That's true. Mr. Bertoli, I wouldn't take any threats he makes lightly. __My cousin is a dangerous man."_

_Bertoli nodded. "Well, I guess we're forewarned."_


	163. Chapter 163

_Here's another chapter. Thanks for reading and leaving great comments._

_My original fantasy novel, The Crimson Orb, is now available on Amazon and Smashwords._

_**Chapter 163.**_

_Bertoli and I exchanged a few more words, but nothing very helpful. Julio didn't have anything more to offer either. So, I returned to Jess, Edgar and Cheryl. _

_Jess was describing the menu for the party the next night._

_"I never ate French food," Cheryl said. "Isn't it all sauces and stuff?"_

_Edgar pointed to the pot she'd been dipping her chicken in. "What do you call that, then?"_

_"Dip?"_

_Jess covered her snicker with her hand._

_"Oh, oh, I know!" Cheryl's eyes went wide. "It's called fondu__e__!"_

_Edgar patted her shoulder. "Very good. My point, though, was that the sauces they use in French food and other dishes __are__n't that different from the dips here."_

_Cheryl smiled. "Well, good. Then I guess I'll like it." Her smile disappeared as suddenly as it showed up. "We're going, aren't we, Edgar?"_

_"If Dr. House wants us there." __Edgar looked to me for confirmation._

_"Yes, of course. __Never can have enough muscle around.__"_

_Cheryl's smile returned. "I've never been to a Sweet Sixteen. Didn't have one myself."_

_"Neither did I," Jess told her._

_"Don't look at me." __I twisted my mouth.__ "It's not a guy thing."_

_Our waiter showed up at that point to take away our __dinner __plates. "__Did a__nyone save room for dessert?"_

_"Need you ask?" I smirked at him. _

_He handed out menus and left._

_"Ooh! This one looks yummy!" Cheryl said in that squeaky voice she tended to use when she was excited about something._

_Edgar looked at the line she pointed at. "Maybe we should share it."_

_Jess nodded. "The desserts here are ginormous. Greg can finish any of them, but I tend to stick to the smaller ones like the original chocolate fondue. It has milk chocolate and peanut butter fondue with fruit, pound cake and brownies."_

_"And you finish all of that yourself?" Cheryl turned her wide eyes toward Jess._

_She chuckled. "I have help."_

_We ordered our desserts and sat back to wait for them._

_"What made you decide on medicine, Doc?" Edgar asked after a minute or two of silence._

_"Still trying to decide what you'll do when you grow up?" I looked him up and down. "I guess you've finished growing."_

_"Well, I know it won't be a doctor, but I sometimes wonder how people pick one profession over another."_

_"I can answer that," Jess said. "I studied accounting in school, but after a while I realized I wanted a job working with people and with food. Everyone gravitates toward something that makes them feel fulfilled in some way."_

_Edgar nodded. "Guess I'll have to think about what will do that for me. I enjoyed being in the ring, but not so much the injuries I inflicted on others. __Dr. House suggested I work in a gym. __I guess__ it would have to be the kind that athletes use."_

_"__But is that what you're passionate about? What did you study in school?" she asked._

_"I have a degree in __History." His laugh was mirthless. "Fat lot of good that did for me."_

_Jess nodded. "But besides the stuff you learned, the process of learning must have given you some skills. And there had to be things you liked to do besides studying."_

_Edgar chuckled. "Does drinking count?" A man after my own heart. He shrugged. "Something will pop up. Meanwhile, I'm getting by with gigs like this one."_

_I could tell by Jess' look she was going to take him on as a challenge. Better her than me. I was no career counselor._

_We finished our desserts. I paid the bill since there was no way to get Edgar to pay if I didn't want to alienate him. I needed him on my side._

_As we left the restaurant, we said good-bye to Tina __at the reception desk__._

_"Do you need me to go home with you?" Edgar asked._

_I hadn't thought about that, but I was paying him to protect us. "Yes. We have a guest room."_

_"If Cheryl wants to come, too, we won't mind," Jess added._

_I would mind, but I kept my trap shut. _

_"I better get back to my place." Cheryl stood on tiptoes and kissed Edgar. "Call me tomorrow." _

_"Sure," he said._

_She got into her car and drove away, and the three of us returned to the condo. It was still early, so we took seats in the living room._

_"How long have you and Cheryl been together?" Jess asked Edgar._

_"About six months." There wasn't much enthusiasm in his voice. His girlfriend was something else he wasn't passionate about. "__A friend introduced us. How 'bout the two of you?"_

_"__Greg was looking for someone else when we met__," Jess replied._

_I had to clarify that. __"__A former patient. __A toddler.__"_

_"We've also been together for about six months," Jess went on._

_Had it been that long? I hadn't kept track. And so much had happened since I met her._

_She chuckled. "I think he was more attracted to my sister when we met."_

_"But not for long." Now, why did I say that? I sat back with my arm around Jess, listening to them chat. Some of the things they'd been talking about had me thinking. Jess had changed my life, but I was still me. Still a doctor. Still solving puzzles, both medical and not. That would never change, it seemed. The words Jess said about finding something you were passionate about, something that makes you feel fulfilled resounded in my head. I guess I had._

_"Well, it's getting late." Jess rose, leaving my side. "Let me show you __to __your room," she told Edgar._

_He'd brought a gym bag, most likely filled with clothing and other necessities. Grabbing it, he followed Jess to the guest room. _

_I headed to our bedroom and she soon joined me. _

_"I like him," she said. _

_I frowned._

_Jess smirked. "Like, not love. He's a nice guy and smart, too." She walked closer and put her arms around my neck. "Of course, he's not you." Her lips found mine._

_I relaxed a little. Why had it bothered me that she found him at all attractive? But she was here, with me, not with him._

_We made love slowly and passionately and fell asleep in each others arms. In the morning, a clattering sound from the kitchen woke us. We showered and dressed quickly and joined Edgar in the kitchen just as he was stacking pancakes on plates and placing them on our small kitchen table. _

_"He cooks, too." Jess __grinned__ as she sat down and pulled a plate closer to her._

_I pouted. "I can cook."_

_"Did__n't__ say you couldn't." She patted my hand. "I've learned all about your myriad of talents, but we're both just finding out all our bodyguard can do." The doorbell rang and she left to answer it, returning with Thirteen in tow._

_I grinned. __"Your bodyguard's here, so Edgar is mine now."_

_Jess laughed, but my duckling looked mystified._

_"Would you like some?" Edgar asked the new arrival, __holding up a plate of pancakes__._

_"That does look and smell wonderful. Sure."_

_I rolled my eyes. But the food in front of me was delicious. I wouldn't mind having Edgar cook us breakfast every day. _

_"So, how are we doing things today?" Jess wiped some syrup off her mouth._

_"When do you have to pick up the food for tonight?" I asked her._

_"Not until four-ish. And I don't have to pick it up. That's Petey's job."_

_"If he's finished with whatever Bernini has planned for his truck drivers today."_

_"Don't you think they'll be done by then?" __Jess asked.__ "Where are they going?"_

_"I haven't a clue."_

_Edgar chimed in with "Maybe you'll know more after...what was her name?"_

_Jess and I answered simultaneously. "Bev."_

_"She might learn something that will give you a clue what's happening."_

_"What does Bev have to do with this?" Thirteen asked._

_So Jess brought her up to speed. "I guess we have to wait for her call. There's not much else we can do."_

_"Anyone for some stud poker?" Thirteen asked. "I assume you have cards."_

_Edgar cleaned up with both women helping him and then we spent the next couple of hours playing poker. Both Edgar and Thirteen were good players, but not up to my standard. At eleven-thirty, the phone rang. Although we'd been waiting for a call from Bev or Petey, __eveeryone__ started at the sound._

_It should have been my phone but it was __Jess__'. She__ answered. "Are you sure?" she asked. "That doesn't sound right." She listened for a minute or two, then spoke again. "Okay, hold tight. We'll be right there." __When she turned to me, she was ashen. "That was Petey."_

_"Well?" I prompted when she hesitated to go on._

_"The shipment they had to pick up and deliver this morning were several crates of rifles."_

_"Rifles?" That was the last thing I expected. "What are they preparing for? And how did he know what was in the crates?"_

_"He was able to see inside one of them. Plus they were the right size, weight and shape for guns."_

_"Where did they get them?"_

_"At the docks in Hoboken. And they took them to a warehouse, just outside Trenton. After they drove the trucks back to the Bernini offices, they were all told to go home."_

_"That doesn't sound good," Edgar said. "Petey, that's your brother?"_

_Jess nodded._

_I dropped the cards in my hand and put it on her arm. She was shaking. "You told him we'd meet him somewhere." I squeezed. _

_She nodded again. "At our offices. He didn't know where to go or who to tell about this besides you and me."_

_I scraped my chair back. "What are we waiting for?"_

_We took two cars, just as a precaution. I rode with Edgar in mine while Thirteen took Jess. As we parked, I saw Petey's car._

_He was in the back room, pacing, but stopped when he saw us. "House, what do we do now?"_

_I'd given it some thought on the way over. "We do nothing. We act as if we know nothing. Meanwhile, we build our defenses, and that includes the Locarnos, Bertoli, hell, even Uncle Johnny. Anyone they might come after has to be told what you saw."_

_He clutched his head with both hands. "I can't even believe what they're doing. Why would they need guns? Long-range rifles?" He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. This is not a gang war or something."_

_"Maybe to Molino it is."_


	164. Chapter 164

_Thanks for reading __this story __and leaving great comments. __Sorry to have to leave this with such a cliffie. No I'm not. Bwa-ha-ha_

_**Chapter 164.**_

_Jess and I each made several calls to inform everyone we could __think of __about the guns Petey and the other drivers from Bernini Fruit had transported earlier. After each call I made, I checked my phone for any missed calls. Bev should have contacted me already about the meeting Giordano held that morning. Nothing._

_Locarno sighed heavily after I informed him. "I'd hoped to avoid this. It's not the way we do things here in New Jersey, at least not in recent memory. Negotiations behind the scenes can accomplish much with__out__ bloodshed."_

_"It looks like that won't happen this time," I said._

_The last person on my list was Bertoli. After I told him about the rifles, I asked, "Have you talked to Bev today?"_

_"No. I thought she planned to call you." A note of worry crept into his voice. "She hasn't yet?"_

_"No." Now I had him concerned. "I'll let you know when she does."_

_"And meanwhile we'll put every security measure we can into place," __he assured me._

_"Good. I don't know what they're planning, __but we should be prepared for the worst__."_

_"Thanks for calling, Doc."_

_Nina and Wilson arrived while we were phoning everyone, and Petey and Edgar filled them in. _

_"Won't they target the Locarnos first? Or Bertoli's restaurant?" Wilson asked. _

_"We can't take any chances. Jess, since this office is on the ground floor, is there a basement?"_

_She shook her head. "The office in the back is pretty secure with only one way in and out, through the kitchen." __The reason they'd taken this space was that it had an area out front to meet clients, the central kitchen and the office in the back. _

_I looked around. The freezers were large, but couldn't hold more than two or three people each. "Too bad you don't have one of those walk-in freezers."_

_"Do you know how much those cost?" Nina __rolled her eyes__. _

_Edgar and Thirteen were over in a corner, speaking quietly. They __returned__ to the rest of us. "We have a plan," he said. "In the off chance they come after this place, we'll barricade everyone in the back office, moving the freezers and __other large __appliance__s across the doorway. __Hadley__ and I both have guns of our own."_

_"This is not the way I imagined our first day of operation __would__ go," Jess murmured. "But I agree. __Meanwhile, though, we have to prepare for tonight. Do you think it's safe for Petey to go to Maison Phillipe to pick up the food?__" __Why was she asking Edgar instead of me?_

_"I'll go with him," Thirteen volunteered. "I doubt we'll be long."_

_Jess and Nina nodded, and their brother left with my minion-turned-defender._

_"The rest of our staff will be arriving within an hour," Nina said. "Jess and I will identify them. They've already been vetted."_

_I sneered at her. "Maybe so, but did you have a situation like this in mind?"_

_"__No one could, but we did make sure they had no ties to our father or to Molino." She glared back. "Does that count?" _

_Edgar smiled. "That should be sufficient. The important thing right now is for us all to relax a little. It'll help us if we need to act quickly later." He turned to Jess. "Is there anything any of us can do to help you and your sister prepare for tonight?"_

_"We can always use all the help we can get. Nina, why don't you show Edgar and Wilson where the serving platters are? We need to have them out when the food arrives. And Greg, why don't you help me go over the lists of everything we'll have to transport to the party venue."_

_I smirked. She looked so cute bossing everyone around but with a soft touch. Very different from my style. That didn't mean I was about to change, but it was good to see that her method worked too. _

_I wasn't surprised that she had detailed lists __that didn't only include food, plates, napkins and such, but also which person would be in charge of what and how it all had to be arranged at the other end. "Why do you need tongs?"_

_"For the ice, of course. Oh! Ice." She raised her voice. "Wilson, could you go out and get ten bags of ice?"_

_"Do you want him to sculpt it too?"_

_I said it facetiously, but she grinned. "That might be a good idea for the next party." _

_"__Wilson's probably the least likely of us to be targeted by Bernini and whoever he has to shoot all those rifles." I grinned at my friend._

_"I think I saw a convenience store a few streets away."_

_"Yes, that's the one," Nina told him. "I'd go with you but..."_

_"No, no. You stay here. You'll be safer." Wilson kissed her lightly on the cheek and left._

_Jess bit her lower lip. "We should have given him money for the ice."_

_"Don't worry about it." Her sister put a hand on her arm. _

_The two of them finished with their initial preparations. All they needed was the food. _

_Wilson returned with the ice and Nina showed him wh__ich freezer __to put it __in__._

_We all sat down in the back room to wait, but after fifteen minutes, Jess frowned and stood. "Why aren't Petey and Hadley back yet?" She started to walk toward the front windows, but Edgar stopped her. _

_"I'll go. That's the only vulnerable spot here." He strode toward the windows in the area where Nina and Jess usually met with clients. A pop came from that direction and he rushed back to us. "Someone's shooting at those windows. It's a good thing they're reinforced glass or they would have shattered."_

_"What about the doors to the street and the lobby of the building? They're glass, too." Nina backed away from the entrance to the __central __room __where __we __stood__ and reached for Wilson's hand._

_"__I locked and barricaded them while you were arranging your trays, but I think it's time to move those freezers. If they're determined to get in, they'll find a way."_

_"But what about Petey and Hadley?" Jess asked. "We can't lock them out."_

_"Hopefully they're someplace safe."_

_"Them and the food," I said._

_"This is no time to be thinking about food, House," Nina shouted. Her voice was shaky._

_"__If you're that worried about them, call 'em." I pointed to the cellphone on the desk next to Nina._

_She nodded. "Okay, I will." All eyes were on her as she made the call. We could hear it ringing at the other end. After four rings it went to voice mail. "Petey, please call me when you get this and let us know you and Hadley are alright." She pressed her lips together and breathed in and out. _

_The pops outside continued, but still no sound of breaking glass._

_Wilson put an arm around Nina's shoulders until Edgar said, "Are you going to help me move these things? They weigh a ton."_

_"Only when they're full." I usually don't volunteer for this kind of thing, but this time I lent my full weight to moving the large appliances toward the doorway to the back office. _

_Edgar started to lift industrial dishwasher. "Let's move this thing to the doorway to the front room." _

_Wilson helped him. "I hope there aren't any dishes in this."_

_"No, they're empty." Jess looked around as __we each__ squeezed past the freezer and into the office. "I guess we're stuck in here for a while."_

_Edgar filled the gap with a file cabinet. "__That should do it, a__t least until after they decide they aren't getting in here."_

_"What could have forced Molino to make this kind of drastic move?" Wilson asked. _

_I shrugged. __"Maybe he got tired of waiting." _

_"Locarno __has__ too tight a lock on businesses in central Jersey," __Jess said.__ "__Molino__ could have waited until Hell froze over and he'd never make a dent in it. Perhaps he finally realized that."_

_Jess was right. It was the only explanation for Molino's actions._

_"But where does our father come in__to__ this?" Nina asked._

_Jess put a hand on her arm and caught her eyes. "There's a connection between Father and Molino. I'm afraid it has to do with Mom's death."_

_Nina nodded, pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she fought the tears that wet them. "Every time you uncovered something else about Mike Morgan, I was afraid that was the case."_

_"__Right now we have more pressing business." For Jess' sake I kept all sarcasm out of my voice. _

_"Greg is right," she said. "Edgar, is there anything more you can suggest that we do?"_

_"We've done all we can."_

_Wilson pointed to the front. "The shooting stopped."_

_"That's almost more worrying than the incessant popping sound." I wasn't going to be the first to go see what was happening. "I haven't heard any sirens, but who can shoot at a building on a busy street in the outskirts of Princeton and not have someone call 911?"_

_Edgar shook his head. "As long as they're not being shot at themselves, people tend to look the other way."_

_A voice, amplified somehow, reached us in our little hidey-hole. "We have your friends. We'll be using them for shooting practice unless the rest of you come out."_

_None of this made any sense. Why weren't they attacking Locarno's offices? Or Bertoli's restaurant? What did Jess and Nina ever do to anyone? "Prove you have our friends," I called back._

_The next thing I heard was Thirteen's familiar voice. "House, they're not kidding. But you'll be glad to know they turned up their noses at all the food we have with us."_

_"__And what happens when we come out?" Jess asked._

_"Why, we shoot you instead, of course." There was a hint of amusement in the man's tone._

_Both Jess and Nina looked grim, Wilson was alarmed, but Edgar was quite calm. "They can't know how many of us are in here."_

_I studied him. "What's your plan?"_

_"They're out in the street." He pointed. "If we can create a diversion out there, maybe when you leave they'll be too preoccupied to do anything right away."_

_Wilson shook his head. "How do you plan to do that? We've locked ourselves in here with no way out except through the front."_

_Edgar smiled slowly, then turned his attention to the two women. "How do you usually get deliveries?"_

_"There's an alley behind the building, and a loading dock off of it. The doors are locked except when we're expecting something. That's how we got the freezers and other appliances in." Jess stood from her chair. _

_"__Why didn't you mention that before?" I glared at her. "We could have gone out that way."_

_"Not if they have someone watching the back," Edgar said. "But they don't know me. If I can go out that way, whoever is there won't know I'm coming from here, and I can create that diversion I told you about. Then you can go out that way."_

_"That's even better than taking our chances going out the front," Wilson said._

_"C'mon, I'll show you." __Jess moved to the doorway. We helped Edgar move the file cabinet again, and he and Jess slipped out._

_Two minutes later a shot rang out._


	165. Chapter 165

_Sorry __I left you with a__ cliffie __last week__._

_**Chapter 165.**_

_Seconds after the shots were fired, before any of us could rush to find out what happened, Jess ran back __through the corridor __toward us. "Edgar was shot, but he's not badly injured. Unfortunately, he wasn__'__t able to __shoot back__. The __man__ ran off."_

_"Did the perp realize Edgar would be alright?" I asked, while Wilson's first question was, "Did you get a good look at his face?"_

_Jess shook her head, although she had to speak __so I could__ know which question she was replying to. "Edgar dropped to the ground as soon as he was hit."_

_"Wilson asked about the face of the shooter," Nina said._

_"I didn't see it, but perhaps Edgar did. He stayed to look for evidence. __He'll__ be back soon."_

_"__At least you__ got rid of anyone watching the alley." __I took her hand. __"__Isn't __Edgar going to create the diversion?" _

_"__Maybe a__fter he reports back. But, Greg, shouldn't you see to his wounds first? I mean before he takes off again?"_

_"Yeah, yeah. One more question. Did the shooter see you?"_

_She hesitated. "No, I was still inside the building."_

_"Good."_

_"__We should call the police." Nina took out her phone._

_"And get Petey and the others shot? I think not." Jess slumped into a chair. _

_W__hen Edgar finally showed up, I did wonder about her idea of a minor injury. He was favoring his right leg, __and__his left hand __pressed against__ a bloody rip in his jeans. _

_"Let's have a look at that." I motion__ed__ for him to sit up on the table. I separated the torn fabric and tenderly touched the area._

_"It's just grazed." But there was pain in his eyes. _

_Without being asked, Jess went to the sink in the central room and wet one of the napkins with the name and logo of the catering company, then brought it back to me. _

_I used it to clean the blood from the graze on Edgar's left thigh. "Not very good aim."_

_Edgar smile was more of a grimace. _

_"__We've got some ointment in the kitchen." Nina went to find it._

_"Maybe someone else should create the diversion." Wilson look at Edgar's leg from the other side._

_I looked up from what I was doing and met his eyes. "Are you volunteering?"_

_He hesitated, but surprised me by saying, "Yes. Someone has to, and Edgar's not in any shape to run if necessary."_

_"Yes...I...can." Edgar objected, but Wilson was right. And as fast as I could limp along, Wilson would be faster. _

_"What were you planning?" I asked Edgar._

_He sighed. __"I thought I'd stand out in the street and yell that you all got out and were heading north."_

_Wilson nodded. "I can do that."_

_"__A__nd__ the rest of us __can go__out __to the alley __and escape,__" __Nina said. _

_"Is there a way to cut through to the next street?" __I asked Jess. _

_"What about Petey, Hadley and Bev? Won't they take them along if they __take off after us__?"_

_"And how do we guarantee they don't leave someone behind __watching our building__?" __Nina added._

_"Let 'em. If we're going out the back it won't matter how many of them remain."_

_"W__e could__all__ go out through the alley now that the person out there ran off." __Nina said.__ "Greg, why do __you always__ have to over-complicate everything?"_

_I smiled. "__Because it's more fun?"_

_She rolled her eye__s. _

_"And __after we go __through to the next stree__t__, __then wha__t?" Jess frowned __at her sister__. "We still have to free the others AND cater a party in..." she glanced at her watch, "...three hours! __This is where our equipment is." She pointed to the floor._

_"But the food's out there," her sister reminded her. "Being held hostage along with our brother and two friends."_

_"One friend, one..." I didn't know what we were calling Thirteen these days. "...person who claimed she could shield you."_

_Wilson waved his arms the way he often did but he wasn't exasperated with me this time. "Let's just go and then we can figure out what to do next when we're not stuck in here." His voice was just a teensy bit high._

_"I'll stay here." Edgar __made himself as comfortable as anyone could sitting on a table.__ "__I'll__ make them think we didn't leave. I'll slow you down if I go with you."_

_I nodded, although I could see everyone else was reluctant to leave him. Wilson shepherded us out to the hallway that led to the alley door. When we opened it, he briefly stuck his head out and looked around. "The coast is clear."_

_I chuckled. "I bet you've always wanted to say that."_

_We scampered across the alley to the gab between two building and through it to the street that ran parallel to the one where the rifle-wielding men were. _

_I looked up an__d__ down the street. "Now what?"_

_"Now you come up with a brilliant plan to rescue the prisoners, have the cops arrest Molino's men, and get us back to work so we can finish our preparations for the party." Jess looked so cute facing me with her hands on her hips._

_"Do you think any of them have ever seen Molino?" I asked. A plan formed in my mind, but it would be chancy._

_Nina looked at me like I was crazy. "How would we know?"_

_She was right. My first plan dissolved before it was fully formed. "Nina, call your father."_

_"And say what?"_

_"Tell him how scared you are. Someone's trying to kill you and Jess." _

_"__What about Petey?"_

_"He doesn't care about our brother." Jess took out her phone and made the call. "Father, Father, you have to help us!" If I didn't know better, I'd have believed her myself. "We're barricaded in our offices and someone's outside taking pot shots at our windows with rifles! Nina and I are scared to death."_

_"Why didn't you call your boyfriend, ask him to save you?" The lack of sympathy made us all angry._

_"He's here too, and he's hurt."_

_"Serves him right."_

_"Aren't you going to help us? Father, we're you're flesh and blood." There was just the right amount of pleading in her voice._

_"You didn't want to know me before."_

_"What are you talking about? I thought we were making progress __on our relationship__."_

_"__Well, think again. The only one I trust is a guy named Bernini. He's going to change things here so we don't all have to bow down to his highness, Tony Locarno." He spit the name out._

_"You know Bernini works for Carlos Molino, don't you?"_

_"Sure. Molino and I go back a long way. He's a real Italian, knows how things should work."_

_"Father, I think the men attacking us were sent by your friends Bernini and Molino."_

_"So?"_

_She stared at her phone and ended the call. After swallowing hard, she turned to me. "Now what?"_

_"Yeah, House. Your wonderful plan didn't work at all."_

_"It reinforced the __fiction__ that we're still back in the office."_

_Nina rolled her eyes. I think she learned that from Wilson._

_"Now we get us some reinforcements." My turn to make a call. "Bertoli, this is the situation. We locked ourselves in Jess' and Nina's office when Bernini's goons started shooting at their front windows. I'm afraid they captured Petey and Dr. Hadley, and Bev along with them. We managed to escape out through a back alley, but we have no way to rescue the others."_

_"__What did they want with my daughter?" he bellowed._

_"Wrong place, wrong time, I guess. We've hesitated calling the gestapo because that might get the hostages killed." I tried to sound calmer than I felt. "So we hoped you could send someone instead?" My voice unintentionally rose at the end._

_"I'll get right on it." He was definitely a more concerned father than Giordano. _

_I gave Wilson and the sisters a thumbs up. "Thanks. Somehow I knew I could count on you."_

_"Where will you be?"_

_"We're a block over. There's a coffee shop on the corner. We'll wait there for you to call and give the all clear." I started to end the call, then asked. "You know where they're located, don't you?"_

_"Yes. I met them there once to talk about a party they're doing with food from my place."_

_"Good."_

_The four of us entered the shop I mentioned. It was a seat-yourself kind of place, so we took a booth toward the back. In the middle of the afternoon, the restaurant wasn't very busy. When the waitress came by, we ordered coffee. Even I didn't have an appetite for anything else._

_"You didn't mention Edgar," Jess said._

_"Bertoli's focus was on rescuing his daughter."_

_"I still don't understand how she was captured with Petey and Hadley."_

_It surprised me, too. "I guess she was coming to tell me what happened at the meeting earlier."_

_"She could have called."_

_I nodded. _

_Our coffees were delivered. Jess added her usual spoonful of sugar and sipped, then put her mug down. "I can't just sit here without knowing what's happening."_

_"It's only been ten minutes since I called Bertoli. Relax." Easy for me to say, but I was as antsy as she was. _

_"Do you think we __could__ hear any shooting from here?" Wilson asked. _

_"Probably not."_

_"Maybe we should check." __He tapped a spoon on the table._

_"And how do you propose we do that?"_

_"__They don't know me." Wilson stood. "I can stroll by and see what's happening."_

_"You will be careful, won't you?" Nina grabbed his arm._

_He smiled at her. "Sure."_

_"Hurry back," she called after him._

_"Where's that waitress?"_

_"How can you eat?" __Her voice was higher pitched than ever._

_"Nina, he eats when he's nervous." __Jess smirked._

_"Do not!"_

_"Sure you do. It's one of your coping methods."_

_"And you twist strands of your hair."_

_"Do not!"_

_"Oh, stop it, you two!" __Nina shouted. She swallowed and lowered her voice. "This isn't helping."_

_The waitress came over. "Can I get you more coffee? Something else?"_

_"Cheeseburger," __I ordered.__ "Hold the pickles and ketchup."_

_"Ladies?"_

_"Nothing for me." Nina stared into her coffee cup._

_"Do you have onion rings? I'd die for some."_

_"Please don't say that!"_

_The waitress frowned at Nina, but told Jess, "I'll bring you some."_

_A phone rang. It wasn't mine, and I didn't think it was Jess'._

_Nina answered hers. "Jim. What's happening?" She ignored my whisper to put it on speaker. Instead, she sighed with relief. "Hurry back."_

_"So?" Jess asked._

_"There's no one in front of our building."_

_"What about Petey and the others?"_

_"He didn't say."_

_"So we still don't know whether they're safe."_

_"Well, no. But it means we can go back and prepare for the party tonight."_

_"You don't know that. And is the party more important than the lives of our brother and our friends?"_

_Nina didn't answer._

_Wilson arrived at the same time as my burger and Jess' onion rings. "Want some?" she asked him._

_He shook his head. "There was no sign of anyone outside the building."_

_"Did you check to see whether Edgar was inside?" I asked. _

_"All I could see through the front windows was the office furniture in the front room and the freezers through the doorway to the kitchen area."_

_"After I finish these, we can go back and check whether anyone's inside." But after only two rings, she pushed the plate away. "If they were freed, wouldn't they call?"_

_"You mean your brother, Hadley and Bev?"_

_She nodded. _


	166. Chapter 166

_Here's another chapter of this story. Thanks for reading and for all of your comments._

_**Chapter 166.**_

_"Why haven't Petey, Hadley and Bev called?" Jess frowned. She stirred her coffee twice clockwise and twice counterclockwise._

_"Maybe you should call Bertoli again," Wilson suggested. "Find out what he did to the thugs who were holding them."_

_For once he made some sense. Bertoli's phone rang three times before he answered. "What happened?" I barked, putting my phone on speaker._

_"I just got off the phone with Locarno." He sounded calm. "__His people grapped t__he four men shooting at the sisters' offices and holding my daughter and the others. Bev, Petey and Dr. Hadley __will__ be brought here."_

_Now that the crisis was over __we could focus on__ something else. "What about the food?" I smiled at Jess. _

_"I understand it's still in Dr. Hadley's trunk." _

_"It's ruined!" Nina cried. _

_Jess shook her head. "Not if it's packed in dry ice the way they said they'd send it." She stood and started for the door of the coffee shop. "We need to get it into the freezers right away."_

_I followed her, still talking to Bertoli. "We'll need the keys to that trunk."_

_"I'll bring them over myself."_

_W__hen w__e __reached __the catering office, __t__he former hostages were __waiting __with Bertoli. I'd called Edgar __on our way over __to let him know what was happening __and tell him to be__ ready to help us move the freezers __back where they belonged__. Jess let us all back in but __after __one look at his pale face, I ordered him to sit down again. __There were enough other people that we didn't need him. _

_Petey helped Thirteen bring the food in from her trunk, and Nina and Jess put it in the freezers as everyone helped get the trays ready. My job was to watch and boss everyone around, of course._

_"Greg, you're not helping," Jess said at one point, so I decided it was time to look at Edgar's wounds._

_"What do we do next?" the big man asked as I removed the bandage from his leg. It was no longer bleeding, but he winced when I touched it. I applied some more antiseptic ointment and rebandaged it._

_"I'll leave it up to Locarno to take care of the guys who grabbed those three." I pointed my chin at Petey, Bev and Thirteen. I called to Bev, "What was the meeting about this morning?"_

_She put down the napkins she was artfully folding and came over. "Giordano is planning a big opening for his restaurant. He said some bigwig from Sicily would be there and he instructed us how to treat him. When he sent everyone else on their way, he asked me to stay." She grimaced. "I was afraid he'd found out about my connection to my father and to Marcello, but he had another assignment for me." She stressed the word assignment. "He wanted me to __entertain__Molino__, even away from the restaurant. __I couldn't very well tell him that I know Molino quite well already, __and I had no desire to see him again__. __"_

_I squinted at her. "What did you tell him?"_

_She sighed. __"That I'd be honored. And then I came to tell you about it and was captured by those men who had Petey and Remy." She sighed. "I'm afraid my covers blown."_

_"Not necessarily."_

_"House, those men were in constant contact with him, reporting their every move."_

_"With Giordano? Not Bernini?"_

_"Both. They described the people they were holding hostage, __including me__."_

_"__But that doesn't indicate that you're working with us, and certainly not the connections you have."_

_"Well, no. Still, I think it might make Giordano suspicious."_

_I nodded. "It was only a description, right? There are tons of women out there your height with dark hair and eyes. Are you willing to go back to Giordano's and pretend nothing happened to you?" Normally, I would demand it, rather than ask, but I guess I had a soft spot for Bev. Besides, her father was standing not four feet away._

_She glanced at him, then back to me. "You want me to go ahead with what he wants, flirt with Molino? What happens when he shows up and recognizes me?"_

_"I'm not going to tell you not to do it," Bertoli said. "But I think you're playing with fire."_

_I scowled at him, even though I knew he was right. _

_"Will you and Locarno be able to clean up this mess before Carlo arrives?" Bev asked her father._

_He shook his head. __"I can't promise we'll be able to."_

_Her gaze took in all of us as her lips pressed together. "He's not coming here for about a week. I'll continue to work for Giordano and try to find out more before then, come up with a way that I can avoid meeting Carlo __until you do__."_

_"What about me?" Petey piped up. "How can I go back to my job with Bernini after this?"_

_"Did you recognize any of the people who grabbed you?" I asked._

_He shook his head. "I don't know where they came from, but none of them were drivers for the fruit company."_

_"But if they described Petey to our father, wouldn't he realize __who he was?" Jess asked. _

_"Your father doesn't know he's been driving for Bernini."_

_"Bernini knows there's someone named Giordano on his payroll. If he questions why one of his drivers was delivering food to us, that would be a problem."_

_I grimaced. "I guess that means we've lost our inside guy at the produce company."_

_"If Petey leaves, they'll be looking for another driver, right?" Edgar looked at each of us in turn. "I can apply for the job."_

_"Then who's going to guard us?"_

_"Greg, I think Edgar's idea is perfect. They're not going to come after us again so soon, and meanwhile he'll find out all he can at Bernini so we know when Molino will arrive." She turned her hand to indicate Bertoli's daughter. "Bev won't have to go back to work for my father."_

_Bev stopped arranging pastries on a platter. "What excuse do I give to quit?"_

_"You can tell him you don't want to have to entertain a man you don't know." Jess shrugged. "He'll buy it."_

_"So that's our new plan?" Thirteen asked._

_After a few more arguments, and with a modification or two, we all agreed._

_"Okay. Now let's get back to work. We have a little more than an hour __before we have to load the vehicles and drive to the venue for the party."_

_Once more I sat on the sidelines while everyone else worked with the sisters. I would have gotten in the way. Soon, Ellie and the other employees __arriv__ed __and the process sped __up. _

_The most anyone said to me was, "You're in the way" and "Hand me those tongs."_

_Periodically, I snatched an hors d'o__e__uvre from a tray. __When Nina cast a disapproving glance my way__, __outdoing any Wilson ever tried, I said, "All this food is making me__ hungr__y."_

_B__y five thirty, everything was ready. With the help of __all__ present, yes, even me, we loaded the van Nina and Jess bought at a used car lot when I wasn't looking, and everyone headed to the party place. __True to his word __to her__, Edgar stopped for his girlfriend and brought her over too. _

_Once there, the __loading __process reversed and we had everything set up for the Goldmans and their guests __when __Brianna Goldman and her parents arrived. The birthday girl and her mother gushed over all of the food, even though it was what they ordered and eaten in the past. _

_Bri's friends arrived in groups of two and three, all decked out in what passed for party clothes among the __well-to-do teen set. _

_I filled a plate with food and sat out of the way while Jess and Nina kept the tables full. Edgar and __Chery__l sat with me. "__This is so good!" she said between bites._

_A DJ played a mix of pop, rock and hip-hop tunes. The kids danced with more energy than grace and seemed to be having a wonderful time. _

_Petey walked around with tray after tray of food, all traces of his ordeal that afternoon, completely gone. _

_Three large tables were set up to one side of the room. The music stopped when the hors d'oeuvres were all gone, and the kids found their places. Then Petey, Ellie and the others served the real meal. _

_Mr. and Mrs. Goldman sat at a smaller table and asked Wilson, Edgar, Cheryl and me to join them. _

_"I don't think I can eat another bite!" Cheryl said, but of course she did. _

_Ellie came by to take our orders. The choices were blackened prime rib with a Bernaise sauce, chicken cordon bleu, and lasagne Francaise. __The beef and chicken were served with pommes frites and ratatouile, and the lasagne with just the vegetables._

_"What's that last one? Is it like the lasagne I make?" Cheryl ask Edgar in a stage whisper. _

_"I think it's vegetarian, with lots of vegetables in it," Edgar answered._

_She wrinkled her nose. "Yuk! No meat at all?"_

_Edgar shook his head._

_Cheryl looked up at Ellie. "I'll have the chicken."_

_The rest of us ordered, and Ellie went off to let Jess and Nina know what she needed for our table. _

_"I don't think we were properly introduced." Mrs. Goldman sat at Edgar's right, so much shorter than he that she had to tilt her blond head up._

_"Edgar Allen," he said. "And this is my girlfriend, Cheryl."_

_"He's my bodyguard," I added. _

_Mrs. Goldman frowned at me. "Why would a doctor need a bodyguard?"_

_"It's a long story. But don't worry. We're all safe here."_

_She didn't press me, but here eyes were on me and Edgar throughout the meal._

_Ellie returned with a full tray and carefully placed our plates in front of each of us. "Dr. House, take a bite and let me know whether your meat is rare enough."_

_Not only was it, but the flavor was superb. "Perfect," I said. _

_She made sure we were all satisfied with our food before moving on to check the nearby table where Bri sat with several of her friends. _

_Wilson looked up from his plate long enough to say, __"__I think Ellie's found her calling." _

_I thought back to what I knew about her life in __Dorsey. She was still a waitress, but her life was so much better here in Princeton, and so was her son's life._


	167. Chapter 167

_It's Saturday, time for more of this story._

_**Chapter 167.**_

_We'd finished our entrees, and Ellie, Petey and the rest of the staff were clearing the plates from the table when we heard a commotion from just outside the party room. Peter Giordano burst through the doors, his face red and his eyes blazing. _

_Jess put down the plate of pastries she'd just brought in, and faced him. "What do you want?" Her voice was full of anger._

_"I didn't come here to talk to you." He strode past her to his son. "What are you doing here?" he demanded._

_"I...I work for my sisters. They hired me to serve at the parties they cater." He shook slightly but stood his ground. _

_I was glad at that moment that Bev had gone off to the ladies room before Giordano arrived._

_"Were you spying on Bernini?" Papa Giordano poked Petey in his chest._

_"What are you talking about? I work for Jess and Nina on the weekends, and drive a truck for Bernini __Fruit __early every morning." Petey swallowed. "I have to earn money some way, don't I?"_

_Mr. Goldman whispered to everyone at our table. "Who is that?"_

_"Jess, Nina and Petey's father." __My eyes were fixed on the scene playing out in front of us all._

_Edgar stood. "Leave him to me." He strode to where Peter and Petey confronted each other. "Mr. Giordano, this is a peaceful sweet sixteen party for a lovely young woman. You really don't want to have this discussion here."_

_"I don't, huh? And who are you to tell me what to do?"_

_"I'm a guest at this party, and you weren't invited, were you?"_

_Giordano looked around at the staff and guests. His breathing was slowing __and the color draining from his face__. He grimaced. "This isn't over yet, not by a long shot. None of you know what __or who __you're dealing with." He turned and pushed back out through the doors._

_Jess and Nina directed the staff to get back to what they were doing. The two of them went around personally to each table, smiles on their faces, and said a few calming words. I explained to Mr. and Mrs. Goldman, "Their father is angry with them. He's starting up a new restaurant and they've refused to offer food from it to their clients." There was no need to tell them what was really going on._

_Goldman nodded as if he accepted that explanation. _

_The meal continued with the wait staff bringing out __more __platters of pastries to each table. Jess rolled out a cart holding an intricately decorated birthday cake. "Bri, come up and blow out your candles." She lit the one and six as the teen approached. _

_Bri took a deep breath and blew the two huge candles out. Her friends and parents sang Happy Birthday, mostly off key, and she grinned. _

_Jess rolled the cake away to cut it, after having Bri sit in a large chair surrounded by a few gaily wrapped presents and lots of large envelopes. I watched as she opened them, curious about what one gave a well-to-do teen girl these days. _

_The envelopes mainly contained certificates for apps for her computer and tablet, itunes, and ebooks. Jewelry, __toiletries and similar items rounded out the gifts. Bri seemed thrilled with everything, and thanked each of her friends. _

_The music started again. Some of the kids danced, while others stood around in groups chatting a mile a minute. They were at an age where one minute they seemed sophisticated and the next they giggled or horsed around like preteens._

_Mrs. Goldman looked on with a grin on her face. "They're having a great time, aren't they?"_

_"Why not?" I shrugged. "They haven't any cares tonight. Monday will be soon enough to worry about school and whatever concerns high school kids these days."_

_Mr. Goldman shook his head. __"__Don't kid yourself, Doctor. Teenagers today are bombarded with things to worry about from the trivial, such as what clothes they should wear, to the same concerns we adults face: wars in the middle east, energy supplies here in the U.S., clean air and water, and the state of the general economy. They're not oblivious to the world around them."_

_It was the most he'd said all evening. Obviously it was something he'd observed and thought about. _

_"That's why it's good to see them enjoying themselves tonight." He looked at his daughter, laughing and seemingly carefree, and he smiled._

_He was unaware of the drama playing out in his own backyard, the battle between Locarno and Molino to control __commerce__ in this part of the state. Or maybe he wasn't. I'd never asked what he did for a living. Seemingly out of nowhere I asked, "What do you think of Tony Locarno?"_

_Goldman looked puzzled for less than a minute, but then his smile returned. "He's a good guy. I happen to know him personally. He helped me when some nogoodnik tried to force me out of business."_

_"Sammy owns the Elite Cleaning shops in Princeton, Trenton and some of the smaller towns nearby." Mrs. Goldman answered my question before I asked it. _

_I didn't know how much to tell him, so I nodded. "He's done a lot like that, besides supporting some politicians."_

_"__He's tough and all business." Before Goldman could go on, his daughter came over. _

_"Daddy, thank you so much. This was the best party in the world! Everyone loved the food and the music and everything."_

_That bode well for Jess' and Nina's catering service. It had been a good party, despite Giordano's intrusion._

_The kids began their exodus as parents came to pick them up. Jess, Nina and their crew __got to__ work cleaning up the place, and packing up any remaining food for the Goldmans to take home. _

_"__Good dinner," Wilson said._

_"That's all you can say?" I __reacted to him the way he usually__ react__ed__ to me. "Nothing about Giordano's interruption, or the great time the kids had, meaning they'll rush home to tell their parents to use Jess and Nina for their parties, or anything else that's happened in, oh, say, the last seven hours?"_

_"But the food was good." Cheryl looked puzzled by my response. She hadn't spent the afternoon barricaded in the office or trying to plan our next move._

_Edgar put his hands on her arms. "Honey, what Dr. House means is that the food wasn't the only thing that was good about this party." His eyes locked with mine before he went back to explaining the situation to her. "We had a busy afternoon before this and there are still things we have to do."_

_"You're still going to bodyguard them?" she asked._

_He nodded. "Something like that. Why don't you head on home and I'll call you later, okay?"_

_She smiled at him. "Sure, Edgar." She kissed him and left. _

_"Now what?" Jess joined us, and I put an arm around her. It felt natural._

_"Now we go home. You finished here?"_

_She nodded. _

_W__e went out to our assorted cars. Edgar sat in the backseat of our. As Jess buckled up, she smiled. "It went better than I expected."_

_"The Goldmans seemed pleased."_

_"They gave us a __huge __tip. Guess they were in a good mood because their daughter got the party she wanted." She leaned back and closed her eyes._

_"Somebody's tired."_

_"Better believe it. Our staff performed very well, but it was still lots of hard work."_

_"Edgar, you're quiet back there." I glanced at his face in the rear-view mirror._

_"I was thinking about what I could do at the fruit company if I applied for the job Petey's giving up."_

_"So? What did you come up with?" _

_"__The key might be to become Bernini's new best buddy." Edgar grinned. "He has to confide in someone, and I don't see that __person __being Giordano. I'll see what I can learn from him about Molino's plans. When he's coming to town, things like that."_

_"Alright. That could help."_

_"He's a big guy, right? A thug? Wonder if he works out." I could just make out the twinkle in Edgar's eyes._

_"And meanwhile, I still have a bone to pick with my father. The nerve, showing up at our opening night!" Jess sounded furious, but was she calm enough to think through how she'd approach him?_

_I switched my attention partially to her, but kept one eye on the road. "Don't do anything rash." _

_"Hey, you know me. I think I know just what to say to him."_

_I was able to park close to the condo and the three of us got out. _

_"Once I get the job at Bernini's I probably shouldn't continue to stay here." Edgar practically ran up the step to the front door. _

_"I think we can handle things from here, but I am grateful for your help. How's the leg?" I turned the key and opened the door._

_"Feeling better by the minute. It was only a graze." He sighed. "Well, I'm bushed. I'll be off to bed."_

_"Good idea." Jess headed directly for our bedroom. She looked as exhausted as I felt. "I'm so tired, but it's a good tired, know what I mean?"_

_"It was an interesting day."_

_"I'll say. Let's hope we won't have anything like that again." She went into the bathroom._

_I stripped off my clothes, probably incapable of standing up long enough to shower. Slipping between the sheets, I was asleep before Jess returned. _

###

In the morning, I woke with my usual aches and a few more thrown in for good measure. I hadn't done anything very physical the day before, so I wondered why.

Jess stirred next to me. Her arm reached out to rest on my chest. "Morning," she murmured.

"Morning, yourself."

"I am so glad I don't have anything to do today. Can we just laze around the condo?"

"Suits me." Of course, there was more than laze around that I wanted to do, but for now, I wanted to rest my head on my pillow and snuggle with my girl.

Sounds and smells drifted in from the kitchen. Pans rattling, someone whistling off-key, a faint sizzle followed by the odors of fresh coffee and frying bacon.

"Guess our visitor is more wide awake than we are." Jess started to pull away.

I pulled her back. "Where are you going?"

"To shower and dress." She smirked at me. "We can always come back to bed after Edgar's gone.

My desires warred with the tantalizing breakfast awaiting me in the kitchen. Food won. "I'll join you. Maybe a shower will wake me."

The hot water revived me a bit and so did the touch of Jess' hands as she soaped me well and proper. We dried each other, then dressed.

Edgar grinned at us when we entered the kitchen. "Sleep well?"

"Ever thought about getting a job as a chef or a butler or something?" I dug into my heaping plate of scrambled eggs, laced with cheese, and then munched on a rasher of bacon. The coffee was hot and strong, just what I needed.

"Let's see how this truck driver gig works out. Who knows? When Bernini goes under, I could take over the business and use it for the betterment of humanity."

I chuckled. "Who ever heard of a civic-minded produce trucking company?"

"Why not? Although I guess we'd have to ship only organic fruits and vegetables." He frowned and joined us at the table. "I'll have to think about it."


	168. Chapter 168

You do know about my original fantasy novel, The Crimson Orb, don't you? It's published under the name Joyce Hertzoff and is the first in a series.

_Anyway, here's this week's chapter. Hope you enjoy. Leave a few words if you wish._

_**Chapter 168.**_

_Edgar took off after breakfast, but cleaned up before he went so Jess and I were able to get back to more fun things. But it was not to be. True to his word, that it wasn't over with his children, Peter Giordano interrupted us at the worst possible minute to announce he was pulling up to our door and wanted a word with his daughter. _

_We __grabbed our clothes and __quickly dressed again __so we__ were waiting by the door when he rang the bell._

_"What do you want?" I snarled at him. _

_"Out of my way, House. This is between me and my daughter." He shook his head and squinted at me. "She had a good head on her shoulders until you showed up, filling it with all sorts of __crazy __ideas."_

_"They're my ideas." Jess pointed her thumb at her chest. "No one put them there. And everything I've done since I left Dorsey has made my life so much better. I certainly don't need you coming along and messing things up the way you have for all of us for so many years. Nina's better off, and so is Petey. We don't need your help or your interference."_

_He glanced briefly at me. I hadn't budged. Then he concentrated on his daught__er__. "I get the feeling you two know what's going down here in the near future. If you want to continue playing at being a business woman, fine, but know this, little lady." __He wagged a finger at her.__ "Mine is going to be the winning side, and you'd be best off if you join us. I guess you've gotten to know the Locarnos and their friends, but they sure won't help you when they're busy fighting us off."_

_"By us you mean you, Bernini and Molino?" She tilted her head to the right. "I think you're all in for a rude awakening and it won't be long. You don't have the clout or the connections Locarno has __here__, or even the business sense."_

_"__Believe what you want, but in the end, don't come running to me." He glared at me once more and left. _

_I dismissed everything he said. "Empty threats." _

_"I hope so."_

_"Do you really believe they'll win?"_

_"No, but it'll be a bloody fight and who knows who'll get caught in the crossfire."_

_"So what do you want to do?"_

_"Under normal circumstances, lay low. But we can't, can we?" She looked up at me. "We've already become active participants."_

_I came to a decision, one I didn't make lightly. "I'll talk to Locarno. I agree with you about his reach and abilities. __I'm sure he'll have some suggestions for us.__"_

_"You don't usually rely on anyone elses judgment."_

_"I'm afraid this time I'm out of my league." I shook my head. "There's nothing even remotely medical about this situation."_

_"How would you handle it if there was?" __She studied my nose, or so it seemed._

_It was a good question. "Hmm. Probably do a DDx, but I've already done that and it hasn't told me anything I didn't already know."_

_"Is there anyway to test the situation, look for weaknesses in their strategy?"_

_My lips began to turn up. "Interesting. Yeah, maybe there are."_

_We finally got back to what we'd been doing before we were rudely interrupted. Normally, it's a great distraction to make love to Jess, but I kept stopping every time something new occurred to me._

_"Greg? What is it?" she asked after the third time my fingers stopped their ministrations. _

_"It can wait."_

_"No. Your mind is elsewhere. Frankly, mine is too. Plenty of time for more of this after we resolve this mess." She pulled away and looked at me, a smirk on her face. "Let's look at this logically and practically."_

_"A little too clinical for me, but, okay, go ahead. What did you have in mind?"_

_"So, Molino is coming to the states. He's been here before. I wonder where he stays?" __The speculation in her voice was interesting._

_"Maybe he has a pad somewhere in Jersey."_

_She nodded. "Most likely. What about Bernini? __Did we ever determine where he's been staying?__"_

_"__Frankly, I never thought about it."_

She chuckled briefly. "I won't say you're falling down on the job, but that kind of missed detail isn't like you."

"Jess, am I slowing down?"

"What? No! You're still sharper than anyone else I know."

"That may not be saying much. Is there something else I missed that I shouldn't have?"

She shook her head. "You've been very thorough. But we should look into what residential properties Molino or Bernini hold."

"What about your father?"

"Him too. If you remember, when he first came to Princeton and was looking for a restaurant, we pointed him in Marcello and Ricky's direction."

"We did, didn't we? I wonder what he told them, or if he ever went to their office." I opened my phone and speed-dialed Rickey. "Hey, kid, you have a minute?"

"For you, House? Anytime. How can I help you?"

"Did Peter Giordano ever contact you about purchasing or leasing properties in Princeton?"

"Peter? Not that I recall. He may have talked to my uncle. Want me to ask?"

"Yeah, and get back to me with his answer. Thanks Ricky."

"Can I ask what this is about?"

I explained to him about what we needed to know going forward. "We also need so info on any holdings Molino has. We know about his auto shops, and something about his interest in Bernini Fruit."

"I can search some of the real estate information. It's basically public record. Gimme a couple of hours."

I decided we could spare that much time. "Bet you're busy? Sundays can become pretty hectic in the property-selling business."

"Well, I have a couple of appointments this afternoon, but I'm free now. I'll see what I can find out and call you back."

"Thanks, Ricky. We'd appreciate it."

"How'd Jess and Nina's party go last night?" the young man asked.

"Aside from an unexpected intrusion by her father, it went well." I glanced her way. She wasn't smiling.

"What did he want?" Scorn filled Ricky's voice. "Doesn't he have his own business to start up?"

"You heard about that."

"Yeah. My uncle said something about Bev working for him, but didn't give us any details." He took a breath. "Why would Giordano care what his daughters were doing?"

"You do know Giordano is associated with Molino, don't you?"

"Oh! Of course. But just because Jess and Nina are friends with my family doesn't mean they're now their father's enemies."

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh! So how did you handle him?"

"Jess stood up to him, and so did her brother. In fact, he didn't stay long." I paused before adding, "Unfortunately, he decided to show up this morning to threaten Jess and Nina. He honestly thinks Molino will win."

"Well, that's not going to happen. My grandfather already has plans in motion." Ricky swallowed. "I'll let him know what Giordano did."

"He's already aware of what Bernini's goons tried yesterday. This is just another part of their attack."

"Yeah, I heard something about what happened at the sisters' office. I should have realized it meant Molino and Bernini were targeting them. House, we have to do more than we are. Grandfather's plans will work on the large-scale problems, but this is getting personal. Any ideas?"

"We've got a few plans of our own that may or may not do the job. The more we do, though, the better our chances."

"Well, if you need my help, let me know."

"Will do." I ended the call wondering if there was something else he could do. Already he was getting me some information. He was also concerned enough to do what he could to protect Jess and Nina, besides the members of his family.

Which got me thinking. I hadn't heard from Julio in a few days. I wondered how Tina was doing. Sure, she had a bodyguard courtesy of her family, but I would have thought she'd be targeted as a female and from Molino's viewpoint probably the weakest of the Locarnos.

"I'm going to call The Melting Pot," I told Jess. As luck would have it, Tina answered.

"Hi, Tina. It's Dr. House."

"Oh, hi! Julio and I were just talking about you and Jess. Well, more about her, since we're providing food for her next party. How did the last one go?"

I repeated what I'd told her brother. "Giordano seems determined to hurt his own children because of the side they've chosen."

"I can't understand that. Family is everything. I love mine." She was quite vehement.

"Yeah, well I think you've had a very different experience than most."

"Mr. Bertoli told us about what happened at Jess and Nina's office yesterday. How terrible!"

"He was a big help."

She chuckled. "He'd do anything for his daughter."

"Another good father-child relationship."

"Yes. Even though she's been out of the country for the last few years, and was raised by her stepfather, I think they're very close."

Time to refocus the conversation. "I expect your bodyguard is keeping a close watch on you."

"That he is. Maybe a little too close, if you know what I mean."

It was my turn to laugh. "Once this is over, we can all get back to our former lives."

"Sometimes I wonder what sparked this feud. Julio talks about the animosity in his cousin's voice when he ordered him to come to the states. Vendettas like that have to have a start." Smart girl.

I nodded once, even though she couldn't see me. "That's what I've been trying to determine for months now."

"So, what now?"

"I believe your grandfather is about to go on the attack, and the rest of us will have to stay out of the way or we'll be caught in the cross-fire."

"You can't mean literally!"

"But I do. After yesterday, and Bernini's earlier attack on your brother, I think Molino won't hesitate to employ violence. Your grandfather will retaliate in kind."

"That's scarier than I thought."

"You'll be safe as long as you stick close to Bertoli and your bodyguard."

"And everyone else?" She sounded concerned. "I know Ricky and Uncle Marcello have guards, too, but what about the rest of you?"

I could say we had our own protection, but it hadn't worked quite as well as I'd hoped the previous day. "We'll be careful. I don't know if you heard, but Molino is planning a trip to New Jersey. He won't bother with the likes of us. He's got a much bigger fish to fry."

"My grandfather," she said. "But he can take care of himself. He couldn't have lasted this long if he couldn't."

"I hope you're right."


	169. Chapter 169

I'm posting early tonight since we're off to a party in a little while. Next week I'll be selling my novel at Bubonicon, so I probably won't post until Sunday night.

_Anyway, here's this week's chapter. Hope you enjoy. Leave a few words if you wish._

**Chapter 169.**

Jess watched my face during my entire conversation with Tina. Her eyes held both concern and uncertainty.

"The kid thinks her grandfather can take care of himself." I answered her unasked questions.

"He wouldn't have gotten as far as he has if he couldn't."

I nodded. "That's what Tina thinks."

"And you think otherwise?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? I'm not sure he's ever dealt with anyone like Molino."

"But he's dealt with him before, knows some of his methods. What has you spooked?"

"Who says I'm spooked?"

"I know that look. Something's not sitting right for you and you can't put her finger on it."

I smirked. "You've been around me too long, learned my tells."

"It wasn't easy." Her amusement was tinged by the seriousness of the situation.

"I have to talk to him about it, there's no getting around it."

"So, call and set up an appointment."

"It's not that easy. A man like Locarno won't take time to see me unless I give him a good, solid reason, not the nebulous feeling that something's about to go very wrong."

She closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them, there was speculative glint that hadn't been there before. "What if you threatened to throw your lot in with Molino?"

"Why would I do that?" I shook my head. "Seriously, that's what he'd say,"

"Greg, he knows I'm Giordano's daughter. Wouldn't it be logical for me to side with Daddy?"

"Tina said something about family ties."

"Exactly." She took my hand and examined the palm. "You have only loose ties to his family, but stronger ones with me, which can carry over to a connection to my father."

I studied her through eye slits, measuring her words and what they implied. "I don't want him to consider me an enemy."

"I'd phrase it as if you were contemplated what might be in it for you to work for Molino."

"Actually, I was thinking about another approach. People like Locarno like to be asked advice."

"Go on."

"I could point out that we've been in harm's way and aren't certain we're out of it now, especially after your father's recent behavior." I rubbed the back of my head. "I won't ask for protection, but I'll point out that we would be better able to take care of ourselves if we weren't in the dark about his plans."

She nodded. "You can tell him you don't want to step on his toes or do anything to jeopardize those plans, but the only way you can do that is if you have a better idea of what they are."

I smiled at her. "Good point. His son and grandson don't even know what he has in mind. I don't need details, only an impression of which way he's going."

"Make the call." She pointed to my phone on the table.

I found Locarno's number and punched it in. "Hello, this is Dr. Gregory House. I'd like to make an appointment to talk to Mr. Locarno about some matters of mutual concern." I listened to the receptionist, then pantomimed for Jess to get me paper and pen so I could jot down her response. "This afternoon at four. I'll be there."

When I closed the connection, I turned to Jess. "Seems successful businessmen keep Sunday hours. I've got a meeting with Tony at four."

"Want me to come along?"

I thought about it. Would he talk more freely with Jess there or not? "Come along. You can wait in the reception area unless he asks you to come in."

She smiled. "I think you're making the right move, much better than what I proposed."

"I can always hold that tactic in reserve."

"So, what are we going to do between now and four?"

"Need you ask?"

###

At three we showered together to wash off the sweat we created, and then dressed and left for Tony Locarno's office. He was waiting for us and insisted Jess accompany me into his inner sanctum.

"I don't mind telling you that this trouble with Carlo Molino is keeping me from much more important work."

Jess settled into one of the plush chairs across his desk from him. "Then you know how my sister and I felt yesterday when his people's actions interfered with our catering business."

"But in the end, I gather all was well?"

She nodded. "Except for my father's brief appearance our first event went very well. Still, their actions during the afternoon were more than an annoyance."

"I do have some of my own actions in place. They should rid you of any worries over what Molino's henchman might do. Bernini has gone much too far and I won't have that kind of behavior in this area."

"I'm glad to hear you feel that way."

"May we ask about some of your plans? As I said on the phone, I don't want to do anything that will interfere with you getting the results we all want."

Locarno set his mouth in a line and sighed. "I won't give you any details, but I've been able to assemble a case against the produce company and the automobile businesses that will take them to court for price fixing, illegal transportation of goods and a number of other offenses. They'll be too busy fighting the law to spend any time harassing Ms. Giordano and her sister."

I felt a smile developing. Of course Locarno would use legal, business means to shut down Molino's operations!

"You seem to approve of my methods, Doctor."

"I doubt Molino will be expecting that approach, but it will probably work better than brute force. Maybe you can throw in money laundering or tax evasion, too."

He chuckled, a deep sound that came from his belly. "I like you, Dr. House. I like the way you think."

"How much of your plan is already in place?"

"I have the lawyers and Princeton Police Department working on the particulars, but once they started digging, it wasn't hard to come up with all sorts of offenses. Molino operates by the business practices he's used for years in Italy, and has no regard for out laws and regulations."

So much had happened over the last day or so, I almost forgot something. "You know about Bernini using his trucks to transport guns."

"Really?" He studied my face. "How do you know?"

"Petey Giordano drove for the fruit company until today. He was there."

"And he's sure there were guns?" He tapped his fingers on his desk.

I nodded. "I'm surprised Bertoli didn't tell you any of this."

"Must have slipped his mind." He shrugged. "Petey quit?"

"Yes." I hastened to add. "But we have someone else who'll try to take his job and continue to report any suspicious activities."

"I'll have to think about that. What's the name of the guy who's taking Petey's place?"

I smiled. "Edgar Allen. He used to be a wrestler, and he tried to guard me, but was shot in the process. He's kind of between jobs now."

"Big guy?"

"Yes."

"Well, let me know anything he discovers."

"I will." My mind ran through the list of everything we discussed.

Jess must have been doing the same. "What about my father and his new restaurant? Are they under investigation too?"

"There's less to check for him. I gather he ran a clean series of businesses in Dorsey, so there's nothing there to charge him with."

"He wants Bev Fenstermaker to entertain Molino when he comes to town." I smirked. "Of course, he doesn't know she knows Carlo from Italy, or that she's Bertoli's daughter." I watched his face as he absorbed all of this. "And especially, he doesn't know the relationship between Bev and your son."

"Wasn't she caught up in the drama yesterday? How will she explain that to Giordano?"

"She might quit, telling him she wasn't hired to do anything like he wants. But if she doesn't, we have to clean up this mess before Molino shows up."

Locarno nodded slowly. "There are ways to get the wheels of justice moving faster than usual." He turned to Jess. "You haven't said much about all of this."

"I was wondering if Bernini, or even my father, was keeping a second set of books. Dad never did in Dorsey, but he didn't have to. Here, who knows what he might resort to so he can avoid paying taxes."

"Spoken like a true accountant," I scoffed, but there was affection in my voice.

"We certainly can get warrants to search for anything like that." He sighed. "What else can either of you suggest?"

"Nothing really," I said. "We've been very frank with you, suppose you come clean with us."

"What do you mean?"

"You have to have some idea why Molino has targeted you and your family. It's has to be more personal than your difficulties with him in Italy or his desire to gain a foothold here." Chances were even that he'd give me a straight answer, but this might be my only opportunity to ask.

He studied me. "Would either of you like some coffee or tea?"

"Is it that long a story?"

"Long? Not really. Only difficult for me to discuss."

Jess and I exchange puzzled looks. "Coffee would be good," she said.

Locarno picked up his desk phone and gave an order. Then he settled into his desk chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. "You know I had two son's, Marcello and, God rest his soul, Ricardo. That's Ricky's and Tina's father."

"We know he passed away a few years ago." Jess looked and sounded sympathetic.

He nodded. "I had a third son, Giuseppe." He swallowed. "Joe was my eldest. This was ten, twelve years ago. I was grooming him to become a statesman. He went to business school and then followed that with law school. Before he began a law practice, he took a summer off and went to Italy where he met a young woman, Sophia."

I wished he'd get to the point already, but I couldn't rush him.

"She was Carlo Molino's older sister, one he worshipped. Joe had every intention of marrying the woman, even before she became pregnant." He was finally getting to the connection. "Joe wanted to bring Sophia back to the States with him, but there were visa problems and difficulties with the pregnancy, and in the end he returned without her. He vowed to find a way to have her join him after the child was born. Two or three months later, he was killed by the wife of a man he was defending."

Jess' hand cupped her mouth to keep from sobbing.

"When Sophia died in childbirth, Carlo sent a letter, filled with vitriolic language, to Joe. Sophia never told him that my son was already dead."

Jess took my hand and squeezed it. Tears glistened in her eyes. "What happened to the child?"

Locarno shook his head. "We didn't know for a long time. Every communication we sent Molino was returned. When I went to Italy, it was partly to find out what happened to my grandchild. Even then, Molino refused to see me, but I was able to have someone look into the official records. The boy did not survive."


	170. Chapter 170

Bubonicon went pretty well this weekend. I apologize again for posting late.

This coming week I'm leaving on a long train trip with stops along the Pacific coast. I'll post again when I can.

_Anyway, here's this week's chapter. Hope you enjoy. Leave a few words if you wish._

**Chapter 170.**

Jess wiped a tear from the side of her right eye. "What happened to your grandson?"

"He was born with a defective heart, according to the Italian records." Locarno's voice cracked as he spoke. "He lived only three weeks."

"And Molino blamed you? That isn't logical." I shook my head.

"Grief isn't logical." He sighed. "Carlo Molino decided his sister would not have died if she hadn't met my son. Granted, there was enough truth in his belief that I felt guilty and then acted guilty, only reinforcing his determination to get even."

"Did he have anything to do with Ricardo's death, or with Lucy's?"

"Not Ricardo. He was quite ill. But Lucy...well they never proved that the crash was intended by the other driver."

"Or that it was Mike Morgan, the scourge of New Jersey, who crashed his truck into her car?" I asked.

Locarno nodded once. "Just so."

I finally had one of the last pieces of the puzzle. "How long has Molino been holding this grudge?"

"It's been..." Locarno narrowed his eyes. "...fifteen years." He said it as if he was surprised it had been that long.

"Well now the war between you has come to a head."

"And maybe now it can end." He put his hands flat on the table. "Hopefully without any more deaths. But Molino plays by his own rules, and I can't predict what he'll do."

"Mr. Locarno, is there anything we can do to help?" Jess had obviously been moved by the story he told. "We care about your son, grandson and granddaughter."

"The best you can do is lay low, stay out of Molino's field of vision. I know that will be difficult because of your father, but you must try."

"We'll be catering a welcome home party for Bev's sister this week," she said. "She's being released from the hospital. I guess we can focus on that, but I'm not sure it'll keep us out of the way."

"I wouldn't want you to change your plans, but is there any way this party can be postponed?"

"We'd rather not."

"What day will it take place?"

"Tuesday evening," Jess replied. "Marisa doesn't know about it. Bev is helping us with the plans."

"You have an idea." I had one of my own, but first I wanted to hear his.

He bunched up his lips, then sighed. "I hate to cause you any further problems. Who is invited to this event?"

Jess' eyes widened as she thought about it. "We'd love to invite Ricky. Marcello, too, but that might not be the best idea."

"Do it," Locarno said. "Where will it be held?"

"The Black Keys, where Marisa sang before she lost her voice."

"You want to lure Bernini and his thugs to the party," I guessed.

He nodded. "It would be even better is Molino was already in town. I'm sure he'd like to join in the fun."

"Do you think they know about the party?" Jess asked.

"It's unlikely, although I'm a little confused about how much they know about Bev."

"And what were they planning to do with all the guns? Surely Bernini didn't have Marisa's party in mind when he bought them."

"I'd hesitate to speculate on what Bernini might be planning, or Giordano for that matter. But I do suspect Molino is looking for an opportunity to hurt me through my family. When did you say Molino's expected?"

"Giordano told Bev within the next week."

"We have to do something to bring him here sooner."

"Are you sure you're ready to confront him?" I asked.

"Ready or not, the longer it takes, the more chance for others to be hurt."

By the time we left Locarno we'd agreed to his plan. I didn't like the idea that it put Jess, Nina and their staff in danger, as well as Bev and Marisa, but I was already thinking of ways to minimize their exposure. My earlier idea might work.

"I'll talk to Bev about the plan when we meet tomorrow to iron out the details for Tuesday evening."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to learn that Marcello will be there."

Jess didn't seem as happy. "She's in a precarious position, but I'll be glad if she decides to quit working for my father."

We drove home, each lost in our own thoughts about what Locarno said. As she got out of the car in front of the condo, Jess said, "We should warn everyone about Locarno's plan and the danger we'll all be in at Marisa's party."

"And what'll they do if they know? We'll tell Bev, of course, and your sister." I opened the door and we went in. "We have to explain to them why you've suddenly asked Ricky and Marcello to attend. I can hear Wilson's objections now." I imitated my friends voice. "We'll be sitting ducks, bait. Didn't we have enough on Friday? How are we going to protect all of these people?"

Under different circumstances, I'm sure Jess would have laughed. Instead she said, "Those are valid points, you know. How ARE we going to protect everyone?" She tossed her purse on the table near the front door and kicked off her shoes.

I shrugged and followed her to the kitchen. "Ricky and Marcello will bring their own bodyguards. Edgar and Thirteen can coordinate with them. But really, we all have to look like we're vulnerable. Otherwise, Bernini won't attack."

"You sound as if you want him to." She took out some scotch and poured us each a glass.

"If I know Locarno, he'll have this set up like a trap. This time Bernini's people won't get away. With them in jail, and the legal charges against his companies, Molino's operations will be crippled." I sipped my drink, relishing the smooth taste and thinking about my alternative plan.

"But first we'd have to get through the night. And it won't be the fun party we wanted for Marisa." Her frown was still in place.

"I'm sure everyone will make it up to her." I put a hand on Jess' shoulder. "I have faith in Locarno, but that doesn't mean we can't make our own plan."

"Like what?"

"I'm working on it."

We finished our drinks, but rather than take another, we went to bed. And I don't mean to sleep.

By the morning, my plan was fully formed. As I told Locarno, I didn't want to interfere with anything he'd set in motion, but I also had to protect Jess and assorted others. What I had in mind might even aid his overall scheme.

As unlikely as it sounds, my plan involved my team. Then again, the one thing I knew best was medicine. I gave Jess only the skeleton of my insidious plot, but she knew me well enough to not ask for details.

We had a quick breakfast before I left for the hospital. She had some phone calls to make, mostly to warn her sister and the others about what might still go down at Marisa's party.

I smiled when I reached my conference room. Foreman sat alone, nursing his coffee and reading a newspaper. Looked like the New York Times.

"Pop quiz time." I dropped into the chair next to his. "What's the fastest acting laxative?"

"Huh?" He had that what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about stare down pat.

"How about diuretics?"

"House, you know the answers to those questions as well as I do."

"Humor me."

"Miralax."

"Too slow."

"How about an enema?"

I rolled my eyes the way he usually did.

"They give patients a mixture of Dulcolax and magnesium citrate to clean them out before colonoscopies."

I nodded.

"Of course, there are several teas and herbal remedies."

"Even better. Okay, thanks." I left him trying to figure out why I asked.

Five minutes of Mr. Googles time and I had a list to investigate. I didn't really want to try any on myself, but couldn't think of anyone who'd cooperate without a significant bribe. What I wouldn't give at the moment for a patient with a constipation problem.

The key player in my scheme would be my new friend, Edgar. I hadn't heard from him, and couldn't assume he got the job at the produce company, so I called.

"Hey, Doc. I was just going to call you. There were six applicants for Petey's job. Who would have thought so many people wanted to drive a fruit truck?" He chuckled. "But I was easily their first choice. I start tomorrow morning."

I smiled. One obstacle eliminated. "How much contact will you have with the merchandise when you deliver it?"

"I'll be hand carrying the crates into each customer."

"What about the fruit the other drivers handle?"

"We all load at the same time."

My smile broadened. "Here's what you're going to do for 'Project Red'." I described exactly every step. He didn't balk at any of it, in fact, by the time I finished, I had him laughing. "Meet me at the hospital at four today and I'll give you the stuff."

"Will do."

Now all I had to do was determine which of the teas would be the most effective, and then make up enough for Edgar to apply to every red fruit and vegetable he could before they were delivered to Bernini's customers Tuesday morning.

I headed out to the nearest Oriental food store, then brought the samples back to my conference room. By then I'd decided on my guinea pigs.

"What are you doing?" Chase asked, as I made up the first batch.

"Just a little experiment. None of your concern, unless you'd like to try it."

But, of course, he insisted on helping and asking inane questions.

"Have a cup." I filled one for him, and he sipped it cautiously.

"Not bad. Better than some of the stuff Cameron used to foist on us."

Taub entered. "What's that?"

Another guinea pig. By the time I filled his cup, Chase bolted for the door, probably on his way to the mens room. Taub watched him go, but drank the tea anyway. Before he joined Chase, I saw the light bulb go off in his head.

Chase returned first and looked at me with wide eyes and a big frown. "What was in that stuff?"

I told him.

"Are you insane? "

I shrugged. "No more than usual." I explained my plan.

"They'll blame Edgar."

"No they won't. The fruit company will take all the blame."

He started to say something, then stopped. I could see his brain working and then a smile spread across his face. He nodded. "Insane, but brilliant."

"No more than usual," I repeated.

By then Taub was back. Unlike Chase, he didn't ask what I was up to. "Remind me never to take anything from you again."

I grinned at him.

"Jess isn't going to like this," Chase said.

She might not, but it would incapacitate Bernini so he couldn't make a move during Marisa's party. Locarno might not like that. He was primed for a showdown. Still, he would see the big picture. Bernini would fail again, and that would bring Molino to New Jersey sooner. Meanwhile, the welcome home for Marisa would be safe for everyone involved. What could go wrong?


	171. Chapter 171

I apologize for the delay in getting another chapter posted, but we've had little time and less Internet access than I thought during our trip. I'll be home next week. Meanwhile, finally, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 171.

When Edgar showed up later that day, he was full of questions. "How do you expect me to apply that stuff to the apples and tomatoes and such?"

"Don't they wash the fruit and vegetables before they deliver them to their customers?" I smirked at him.

He shrugged. "I guess so."

My shoulders went up higher than his. "So, you'll put it in the water you use. It's practically colorless. No one will know."

"I guess that will work." His eyes narrowed. "You're sure the stuff will do what you want?"

"Absolutely. Tested it."

"On yourself?" He wrinkled his nose.

"Are you kidding? When I have a whole team to do my dirty work?"

The big guy laughed. "You're something else, House."

"Did you find out anything else at Bernini Fruit?" I asked.

"The foreman has been talking to some of the guys about a job they have for tomorrow night. Seems they're only using the people who've been with the company a while. And they're bringing in some guy who used to work there."

That got my attention. "What did they say about him?"

"Just that he had to leave for a while because of something he did. He's supposed to have a hair-trigger temper."

I smiled. "Sounds like Mike Morgan."

"Yeah, some one used the name Morgan. I forgot until you said it. Who's he?"

I told him about Morgan's history, his time in jail for vehicular homicide and everything else he did.

Edgar whistled. "I'm surprised they'd even use him."

"If they want someone killed with a truck, he's your man."

"Then who are they targeting?"

"Could be lots of people, any of the Locarnos or Bev or her father." I puffed up my lips and blew out the air. "I'm afraid I was the one to provoke him last time when he rammed the front window of the The Black Keys."

"Isn't that where the party is tomorrow night?"

"Yes, and I bet he's dying to finish the job he started there."

"Does the place get produce from Bernini?"

"Not anymore. Guess I should warn Rudy, the manager there. When did they say Morgan would be back?"

He shook his head. "No one said. Sometime today, I'd guess."

"Watch out for him. He's dangerous."

"Okay, I will. If there's nothing else for now, I'll head out. I promised Cheryl I'd take her to dinner tonight."

I thought about asking what he saw in her. She was pretty enough, but he could do so much better. In the end, I handed him the tea leaves to use in the spray and left it at that.

He passed Chase as he was leaving, and my minion was entering.

"Recovered so fast?" I asked.

His face was pale but otherwise didn't show any aftereffects. "I didn't drink that much of the stuff." He tilted his head toward the door. "You should see Taub."

"All for a good cause." I told him a little about my plan.

He rubbed his ear. "Since Ellie will be one of the servers at the party, I'm kinda glad you found a way to keep Bernini occupied, although I wonder what Locarno will say when he finds out you've thwarted his plan."

"I didn't thwart it," I insisted. "Not exactly. He'll have another chance, and by then Molino will be here."

"Jess hasn't signed off on this yet, has she?"

"Well, no. Why is everyone asking me that?"

"Because she has a level head on her shoulders. She tends to keep your most outrageous acts in check."

I grimaced. Right as he was, it was hard to admit it. For so many years Wilson made a half-hearted attempt to quash my best moves, but he never succeeded the way Jess had. I had mixed feelings about that.

"You should tell her," Chase said.

"I told her some of it. I'll tell her the rest." But I had to find the right time, and the right words. Meanwhile, I had to make sure I hadn't put Edgar in harm's way. He could take care of himself, of that I had no doubt, but Mike Morgan wasn't just any thug. "One thing I didn't mention. Morgan's back, or rather will be later today."

What color remained drained from his face. "He better not come after Ellie, Chris and me."

"I think he'll have other things on his mind. Bernini is probably bringing him back for tomorrow night. Did you ever come up with proof he was the one who rammed you?"

"Unfortunately no. It would be nice, though, if we could sic the cops on him." I'd never seen him look so angry and vindictive against anyone before. "What about the manager of the Black Keys? Didn't he file a complaint?"

"Yes. But then Morgan disappeared, or rather ran off somewhere, leaving his job at the produce company open."

"Was that why Petey was working there? And now Edgar?"

"Right. But Edgar heard the foreman talking about Morgan returning." I watched his reaction to that bit of news.

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Neither do I. Every time any of us gets in a car, we could be targets."

A pained look crossed his face, but I doubted it had anything to do with Morgan because he abruptly left the room, heading toward the men's room again. That tea worked better than I ever thought, and kept on working.

It was time for me to go home. My team could deal with the personal consequences of my little experiment. In a way, I was looking forward to the next day and the uproar that could happen when customers of Bernini's customers suffered the same fate. The produce company would be inundated with complaints. Was there a chance that Bernini could still attack the Black Keys and the shindig for Marisa? Probably. I wouldn't count it out. But it wouldn't be as forceful, so it would be easier for Locarno's people.

Jess was waiting for me when I arrived home. The frown on her face could have been caused by almost anything. "Rudy's not sure he wants the party at the club. He's afraid of what might happen."

"Coward." I put a hand on her shoulder. "I set my plan in motion." I gave her more details. "It should mitigate any danger. But where else can you hold it?"

"I could talk to Bertoli or my uncle. They might agree."

I nodded. "Call them. Bertoli first. He knows what's at stake. Tell him about what I'm doing. It might get a chuckle out of him and encourage him to take the chance."

She took out her phone and made the call. "Oh, hi Julio. Is Mr. Bertoli there?"

She smiled at me as she waited. "Mr. Bertoli, it's Jess Giordano. I need a big favor." She put the phone on speaker so I could hear Bertoli's part of the onversation. "Rudy at the Black Keys is suddenly chicken about hosting the welcome home party for Bev's sister. Would you be willing to have the party at The Melting Pot?"

"For Marisa? Of course," he readily agreed. "But what is Rudy so worried about? Does he think Bernini will come after everyone there? Well, if they want a fight, I'll be happy to give it to them."

"Thanks, Mr. Bertoli. You're a lifesaver. Your friend, Tony Locarno, has some plans. You might want to talk to him about them, coordinate efforts."

"And Dr. House? Does he also have a plan?" He chuckled.

I told him, too, what I'd put in motion.

He laughed. "Bernini doesn't stand a chance with you, me and Locarno allied against him."

"Don't forget Bernini isn't alone either. He's got Molino. And Peter Giordano," I warned.

"Of course, but this will bring Molino to Princeton sooner than he planned."

"Exactly what I was thinking. Great minds and all that."

His laugh grew louder if possible. "Jessica, if you're listening, I will be happy to host the party."

"Thank you!" She smiled. "That's a load off my mind."

"Let me check to make sure we don't have any big groups coming in tomorrow. We could probably use the back section of the restaurant. I'll call back and let you know the best time to start."

"Perfect. I don't think Bev will have a problem convincing Marisa to have dinner with her there."

"Give me five minutes."

While we waited for him to call back, Jess was already making plans. "We'll have a different menu, of course. And I'll have to inform everyone who was invited about the change in venue." She made notes to herself as she thought it through.

True to his word, Bertoli called five minutes after he hung up. "You can start at seven."

"It was going to be a black and white party when we planned it for The Black Keys, but we should probably change that."

"A black and white party. I like that. We can still do it at my place. Or come close. Cheese fondue and chocolate. Chicken and steak. That sort of thing."

"That sounds even better than what we had in mind." She was grinning by then, sure that the party was saved.

"I'll let Tony know."

"Good. Thanks again. You're a life saver."

"My pleasure, especially for my daughter and her sister."

"I'll keep in touch and let you know if there's anything else we need."

Once Jess ended the call, I said, "It might be a good thing Rudy backed out."

"Definitely."

"Bertoli would do anything for Bev."

She nodded, but there was a strange look on her face. "Unlike my father."

I pulled her into my arms. Sometimes I forgot how hurt she was by her father's attitude and treatment of her, Nina and Petey. "Bertoli is just trying to make up for Bev's early years," I reminded Jess. "And maybe for asking her to spy on Molino."

She nodded. "I understand that, but it doesn't change the fact that he loves his daughter, while my father..." she couldn't go on.

"Your father doesn't deserve daughters like you and Nina."

She smirked at me. "What about Petey?"

I laughed. "You have to admit, though, that your brother is a better man than your father."

"I guess you're right." She looked surprised at the thought.

I tilted her head up so I could peck her lips. "Forget about your father. He'll get his, along with Bernini and Molino."

"I'm beginning to accept that he deserves to be taken down with them." She traced my lips with a finger. "I only hope they don't find a way to get out of the noose Locarno and Bertoli are tightening around their collective throats."


	172. Chapter 172

I still don't have the amount of writing time I'd like, but here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 172.**

Tuesday morning dawned gray and threatening. That was all we needed, rain.

Jess woke with a ton of nervous energy. She practically bounced out of bed.

"Whoa, there. You use up all that energy now, you won't have any left for tonight."

"Greg, I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life."

"Then I guess I've lost my touch."

She slapped my hand. "Not that kind of excited. At the same time, I'm definitely scared, scared we won't meet Bev's expectations, and frightened about what my father and Bernini might be able to do."

I shrugged. "You've already shown that you could be successful at the party Saturday. No need to worry."

Before I could do or say any more, her phone rang. That old jingle, 'Sisters'. It had to be Nina and not a surprise. She was probably as excited and frightened as her sister.

"Hi, Nina," Jess chirped. "What?" Her eyes went wide. "But...but...how can I manage without you?"

I motioned for her to put it on speaker as I drew my brows together. Something was wrong and my curiosity couldn't wait.

"I can't hold my head up." Nina's voice reflected a stuffed nose and difficulty breathing. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to do this alone."

If I hadn't heard her, I would have suspected that Wilson put her up to it as a way to keep her away from the party so she'd be safe. "Tell her to have Wilson nurse her back to health."

"He left already," Nina lamented.

"Did he at least give you something?" Jess asked.

"Just a decongestant. But it isn't working."

That was clear.

"Remember the tea Mom used to give us when we were little?" Jess smiled at the memory as she spoke into the phone.

It reminded me, however, of my plan. I wondered whether Edgar had been able to execute. He should call soon to let me know. "Wilson usually has some vile concoctions that should do the trick. I think he got them from one of my former fellows. See whether he brought any to your place."

"I'll find something and brew it up. Jess, are you okay if I can't be there tonight?" She was sounding more nasal with each sentence.

"Sure. I'll have plenty of help. It'll be fine. You get some rest. I'll call you later to see how you're doing." Jess ended the call and turned to me. "I guess I'll have to call Bertoli and see whether he and any of his staff can help."

"You do that. I'm going to get some coffee started." I headed for the bathroom.

"Kitchen's that way." She chuckled. "I'll start breakfast. Mr. Bertoli can wait until later."

By the time I joined her, the eggs and toast were done and coffee filling the carafe. Bacon sizzled in the pan, almost crisp enough for me.

Over breakfast, Jess used me for a sounding board as she worked out how she would have to change her plans with Nina being in absentia. I let her words float over me, munching my food and occasionally nodding my head.

"Greg, you're not listening."

"Of course I am. You just said Ellie knew enough about the operation that she could easily take over most of what Nina would do." It was a logical guess.

"Oh. Well, that was at least part of it." She paused. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Ask away." I didn't want to commit until I heard what she wanted.

"Stay close to Ricky and his uncle during the party. They'll have their bodyguards with them, so you should be safe."

I blinked. "What about Edgar?"

"Well, sure. But I'd like to ask him to focus on guarding Bev and Marisa."

I shrugged. "They'll probably be wherever the Locarnos are, anyway."

She stood and walked around the table to place her lips on my cheek. "You're the best." She took my empty plate to the counter. "Did you want any more?"

"No, I'm good." I sipped my remaining coffee as I considered what she'd requested. Yes, I'd already agreed, but there was more to it than simply saying I'd attach myself to the Locarnos and be careful. "Is there anything else you'll need? I'm not volunteering, mind you, but I wondered if I could volunteer my staff."

"They'll be there, of course, because they helped diagnose Marisa." She scratched behind her ear. "Chase will be watching over Ellie, too. But what else could they do?"

"I'll think of something." I wondered whether Wilson would attend without Nina. He was Marisa's doctor of record. But he might want to stay home with his sick girlfriend. Unless she made a miraculous recovery. "I'd better go." I drained my cup and stood.

She laughed. "You're not even dressed. And you usually don't go in this early."

I looked down past my robe to my slippered feet, and snorting. "I thought I'd start a new fashion trend. You like?"

She laughed harder. "Just don't wear that to the party tonight."

I wiggled my eyebrows. "I'll have you know the best people wear robes and slippers to the finest affairs."

"Only if they're kings or something."

I bowed, but finally headed to the bathroom to shower and dress. What I hadn't told Jess was that I intended to visit her sister on my way to the hospital. If I could make Nina well again, all of Jess' worries would dissolve. Well, maybe not all, but many.

Jess was on the phone with Bertoli as I walked by on my way out. She waved and smiled at me. I just nodded my head.

The doorman knew me from my many visits to Nina's with Jess and let me go up without calling her. I hoped she'd be awake to let me in. As luck would have it, she was. She answered the door in robe and slippers.

"I told Jess that was the latest fashion." I indicated her attire with my cane, and then grabbed the fabric of my jeans. "But she made me wear these old things."

Nina's smile was wan. Her blond hair was disheveled and her face pale. "To what do I owe this visit, doctor?"

"Heard you weren't up to snuff and thought you needed a visit from a quack besides the resident one."

"Wilson doesn't live here, you know." She was pretty good at interpreting House-speak.

I shrugged one shoulder as I stepped past the threshold. "Fever? Chills?"

She shook her head. "Only a stuffed up head. The tea helped a little, but periodically I start to sneeze and then can't stop."

I nodded. "That's good. It means it's breaking up. We probably have to boost that. Steam would help. I could give you a stronger decongestant, but the side effects..."

I took out my penlight and lifted her right eyelid, then the left. "Say 'ah',"

She laughed, but did as I suggested. Her throat showed signs of a post-nasal drip, but wasn't really irritated.

"Good. You wouldn't have a nettipot, would you?"

"A what?"

"Little plastic thing, looks like a teapot."

"House, since when do you use OTC treatments."

"Since they work." I turned back to the door, adding over my shoulder, "I'll be back." Didn't even try to imitate Arnold.

Nina called after me, "House, why are you doing this for me?"

"We'll talk when I get back."

The nearest corner drugstore (and aren't they all? Even when they aren't literally on a corner, the buildings looked as if they were.) was two blocks away. I found all I wanted and rushed back to Nina.

When she opened the door again, she'd changed into a pair of slacks and a red sweater. She'd even combed her hair.

"You're looking better already, although I did like the previous outfit." I unpacked the supplies and went to the kitchen to nuke some water in the microwave. When it was hot enough, I set up the device by adding the saline powder and filling the container. I brought it to Nina, who was stretched out on the couch. "Put the nozzle in your nose and push the button. Lean over this so the water can drain into it."

She looked at the blue container and white encased motor and pump. "What is this?"

"It irrigates your sinuses, forces some of the gunk out."

"Humpf." She pushed the nozzle against a nostril and pushed the button. The stream of water that came out contained some of the mucous that had been clogging her sinuses.

Once she'd done both nostrils, she sniffed a few times.

I handed her a tissue. "Blow your nose."

That cleared even more out. She sniffed. "I can breathe again!" Nina grinned.

"Good. Then you have no excuse to stay home tonight." And with that, I strolled to the door. "Use that again in a couple of hours. It should remove some more."

I didn't start grinning until I was in the elevator descending, and I stopped before I nodded to the doorman and headed for my car.

During the ride to the hospital, I whistled a bit of "Ain't She Sweet."

"Is Jess ready for tonight?" Chase saw me as I walked past the conference room and followed me into my office.

"As ready as she can be." I glanced at my phone but there was no indication that I had any messages.

"Heard anything from Edgar?" Chase might have been reading my mind.

"No. And I should have by now. If he doesn't call within the hour I'll call him."

"House, he agreed to take on the danger at the fruit company. Don't feel guilty if he..."

"When did you ever see me feel guilty about anything?"

Chase grinned. "You hide it well."

But the second my cellphone rang, I answered. My shoulders relaxed to Chase's delight. "How'd it go?" I asked Edgar.

"The drivers got sick alright. But you're not going to like the way Bernini dealt with it."

I frowned. "What did he do?"

"He had that guy Morgan hire some thugs for the job tonight. The only good thing is that he wants me to work with them." Edgar chuckled. "I think he's impressed by my size and strength."


	173. Chapter 173

I'm finally back on schedule with writing and posting, or almost. There's still lots going on in RL, but I'll still try to keep writing.

**Chapter 173.**

I stared at my phone, processing what Edgar told me. "I suppose that's a good thing," I said. "At least you'll be able to warn us when they're on their way to the restaurant." Something else occurred to me. "How does Bernini know we changed the venue?"

"Beats me. But he knows alright."

"Has Morgan showed his face yet?" I was still cogitating on how the Bernini's response to my gambit would affect anything else. A new round of warning calls would be needed.

"Oh, yeah. Bernini proudly introduced him to me as his right-hand man." It sounded like Edgar was chuckling.

"As long as they both trust you, use that."

"I will. I'll keep in touch." A click signaled he'd ended the call.

Chase had only heard my side of the conversation. "What happened? Is Morgan in town?"

"Yes. He's assembling a group of thugs since the drivers are out of commission."

He frowned. "Guess your plan backfired."

"I wouldn't say that. Bernini, and Morgan, too, trust Edgar, so they're including him in whatever they do. He'll be our eyes and ears on the enemy's movements."

Chase nodded. "Even if I wasn't invited as one of Marisa's doctors, I'd insist on being there."

"I counted on it. Keep your eyes on Ellie and the other servers. Edgar won't be able to join Ricky and Marcello's bodyguards, since he'll be with Bernini's gang, so anyone we can use to protect Jess, Nina and their staff will be helpful." I'd decided on the sequence of calls I had to make. "I'm going to call Bertoli and let him know what to expect."

He smirked. "Maybe Julio will help."

I nodded. "I'm sure he'll want to because of Tina if for no other reason."

"I'll talk to Foreman, Thirteen and Taub. They were invited, too, and if they have forewarning, they'll be more helpful." He left, and I made my first call.

I could almost hear Bertoli's frown after I told him about Morgan and the goon squad. "That puts a whole new spin on things," he said. "I'll talk to Tony. Between us, we should be able to enlist our own muscle in addition to the bodyguards Marcello, Ricky and Tina have."

That meant I didn't have to call Tony Locarno. With Bertoli's assurances in mind, I called Jess instead. "I think your sister might be well enough by this evening to show up."

"That's good news. I won't ask how you managed that."

"And I won't tell." I smiled slightly, then grimaced. "Unfortunately, my little plan for the fruit company drivers kinda backfired."

"Oh, no! What happened?"

I told her what Edgar had reported. "I warned Bertoli and he's taking even more precautions."

"And if Edgar can get word to us about what Morgan and company are doing, that'll help." She sighed. "I just hate that all this might turn Marisa's party into a shambles."

"I'm sure Bertoli will do everything he can so she won't even realize what's happening." I said it to convince myself as much as Jess. "Chase is telling the rest of the team, so they'll be on their guard."

"Did you tell Wilson?" she asked.

"Not yet. I don't want him to have the time to insist that Nina stay home. We need her there. YOU need her there."

After a short pause she said, "I guess Rudy had a right to be too frightened to host this party."

"In a way, I think the Melting Pot is a better venue than the Black Keys. And it means Bertoli will provide everything we need."

She swallowed. "Greg, if we get through tonight without any disruptions, I'll be relieved. But until then, I don't mind telling you, I'm scared."

"Jess, it'll be fine. Don't worry." I couldn't believe I was saying all of this to her. When did I become such a supportive person?

"Thanks, I needed to hear you say that."

Was I imagining her emphasis on the word 'you'? I cleared my throat. "What time do you have to be at the restaurant to set up?"

"I'll go over around three, three-thirty. I've been there before, but I want to make sure there's enough room for everything, and the kitchen knows what we want."

"I can be there by four." It was as good an excuse for leaving the hospital early as I ever had. "And bring reinforcements."

"See you then."

After talking to her, I wondered if there was anything else I could do, besides convincing Wilson that Nina would be safe, especially if he was there with her. I couldn't wait any longer to confront him.

As luck would have it, he was in his office and alone. He looked up as I barged in. "Nina told me she's feeling much better thanks to you," he said.

"Why should that surprise you?" I plopped down on his couch. "She's well enough to work tonight. That's the important thing."

"Is that why you went to see her?" he asked. I guess he needed to understand my motivation.

I sneered. "Jess' sister was sick and you abandoned her with a decongestant that didn't work for beans. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Right. Out of the goodness of your heart." He practically spit it out.

"I'm a caring person."

"And now I suppose you expect her to expose herself to whatever dangers there are at the restaurant." He shook his head. "She's not going. I won't let her." He's so predictable.

"Which means you won't be there to celebrate the recovery of YOUR patient? What kind of doctor are you?"

He fiddled with a pen on his desk. "I didn't say I wasn't going."

"But you meant it. I don't know what you expect will happen tonight, but Bertoli and Locarno have things well under control." I did all I could to appear calm.

He smirked. "And I suppose you're not worried about Jess and your team? No, you wouldn't be. What do you care if they're injured by the lunatics targeting the Locarnos?"

"No one's going to get hurt. Edgar will call when he knows what form the attack will take, and Bertoli and Locarno's people can use that to plan their counterattack. As long as Jess, Nina and their staff are aware of any possible danger, they can take precautions."

"How did Edgar get involved in all of this?" he asked.

"Bernini trusts him, or at least he's relying on Edgar's strength to be an asset to Morgan's brute squad." I smiled. "What he doesn't know, of course, is that Edgar's on our side and will do whatever he can to thwart their plans."

He raised his eyebrows. "Morgan? So he's back? Can things get any worse?"

"Yes. When Bernini's drivers were suddenly too sick to be of any use, he called Morgan in to recruit replacements."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Hey, if we can take them out, it will cripple Bernini's position. I doubt Molino will be very pleased."

"What about Giordano?"

I'd tried not to think about what part he'd play in Bernini's plans, but I couldn't dismiss him altogether. "You heard him warn the girls that this was wasn't over yet. I expect he'll be involved in some capacity, although, for the life of me, I can't imagine what skills he has to offer."

"Did anyone warn Beverly of the imminent danger?"

I shook my head. "All Jess told her was that the party was moved to her father's restaurant. She seemed to like the idea."

Wilson frowned. "I still don't like it."

"Oh, come on Wilson. Where's your spirit of adventure?"

"You're really convinced that Bertoli's people can deal with anything that happens?" He looked so unsure, I began to question it myself.

But I waved him off. "With everyone forewarned, this should be a great party for Marisa."

"I hope you're right."

I left him frowning and started back to my office, but I was waylaid by Taub.

"So I had to suffer for nothing?" he growled at me.

Although I knew what he meant, it was more fun to say, "The joy of seeing your reactions was worth it to me."

"And now you want us to expose ourselves to even more danger?" He shook his head. "Count me out. I have better things to do with my time than participate in your little experiments."

I shrugged. "Suit yourself. You'll be missing out on a great show as well as some fabulous food."

"Not my idea of a fun evening."

"I won't try to inveigle you to come but Marisa will wonder why all of her doctors aren't there. If you're the only one who doesn't show up, it'll be even more noticeable."

"So you want me to risk my life for a patient? When did you ever do that?" he scoffed.

I bristled. "I do it all the time."

Our voices must have been raised, because Thirteen came out of the conference room. "What are you two arguing about?"

"Chicken here refuses to attend Marisa's party." I pointed my cane at Taub.

She rolled her eyes, something she must have learned from Foreman. "Taub, you don't have to stay if you're a scaredy cat. Just show up long enough to congratulate her on her recovery."

"Exactly." I smirked at him.

"Easy for you to say," he told Thirteen. He sighed. "Alright. I'll be there, but only long enough to wish Marisa well."

Thirteen smiled at me, proud she'd accomplished something I hadn't been able to.

When Taub walked away I said, "Don't know where that yellow streak came from."

"None of us knows what to expect tonight, but at least I know I can defend myself." She crossed her arms over her chest and grimaced.

I nodded, and she left.

The afternoon passed slowly, partly because we didn't have a case, but also because I anticipated the evening with a mix of apprehension and excitement. At three thirty I was ready to leave for the restaurant. Unfortunately, I couldn't get away so easily. Cuddy appeared in my doorway.

"What's all this I hear about the party tonight?"

"Were you invited."

"Yes, I was. House, what are you up to?" she demanded.

"Why do you always jump to the conclusion that I'm up to something?" Even to me my voice sounded high pitched.

Cuddy glared at me, but as usual, she didn't scare me.

"There's a possibility that Molino's compadres might come after the Locarnos at the shindig, but Bertoli and Tony Locarno have it covered." I shrugged. "Nothing to get your panties in a twist over. That is, if you're wearing any." I focused my eyes on her skin-tight pencil skirt."

She tried to harumph, but couldn't pull it off. It came out as a snort. She started to say something, seemed to think better of it, and finally left me with, "I'm not buying it."

Did she really think I was planning something? When there were several others with plans of their own?


	174. Chapter 174

I wasn't sure I'd get this posted tonight. We have visitors for Balloon Fiesta, and spent part of today in El Malpais National Historic Monument, about 90 miles from here.

But we're home now, so here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 174. **

By the time I arrived at the restaurant, Jess had arrangements for the party well in hand. The entire back section of the Melting Pot was decorated in black and white with occasional touches of red. I hoped that wasn't a sign of blood spatters to come.

She was in the kitchen. I'd never been back there before, but it looked like the kitchens of many restaurants, with huge refrigerators, ovens and stovetops, stainless steel counters and sinks. Three chefs sliced vegetables and meat while others mixed and heated the cheesy and chocolate fondues they'd be cooked in by patrons of the restaurant, including the party attendees.

Jess grinned when she saw me. "Nina's on the way, and so are the rest of my staff. Tina helped me decorate with some great suggestions from Julio. Things are coming together." I was glad she wasn't letting the threat from Bernini stop her from being the efficient and positive person she was.

Julio came through the swinging doors. "Oh, hi Doc. I didn't see you come in."

"I'm sneaky that way."

He chuckled. "Jess, the flowers just arrived. Did you want me and Tina to set them in the vases you picked?"

She nodded. "That'll be great. I wanted to talk to Pierre about the fondues we'll be serving." When Julio left, she approached one of the chefs who was stirring a pot of cheese. At least it looked like cheese. "Pierre, what's the whitest fondu you can make?"

"We have a white cheddar that we mix with a little camembert."

I left them to discuss the menu and returned to the front of the restaurant to talk to Bertoli. In the late the afternoon, the place wasn't as busy as it would be later, but he was at the hostess desk greeting the few customers who wanted an early bite to eat.

"Ah, Dr. House. I believe we have taken every precaution we can. Tony will be here himself, with his own entourage of bodyguards. I've already reassured Jessica that she need fear nothing." He sounded completely confident, so why was the tension in my shoulders increasing?

"Does anyone know what Giordano is up to today?" Jess' father was the wild card in all of this.

Bertoli smiled. "Bev chose today to tell him that she wouldn't agree to his request for her to act as Molino's...shall we say...companion when he arrives. It will allow her to learn what Giordano plans, and also when Signor Molino will come to New Jersey."

"So you told her about the danger tonight?"

"Only enough to encourage her to approach Giordano today." The door opened and his smile grew. "Here she is now!" He and his daughter hugged.

"I wanted to stop here on my way to get Marisa," she told us.

"What happened with Giordano?" I asked.

She shook her head. "He was very insistent, said it would be worth my while if I acted as Molino's hostess while he was here."

"Did he say when Molino would arrive?"

She grimaced. "That was the strangest part. He was scheduled to fly in early next week, but he's coming today. Giordano went to meet his plane in Newark."

I exchanged a frown with Bertoli. Obviously he hadn't taken that into the equation.

"I'll call Tony Locarno," he decided.

"What can he do?" I asked.

"He'll have an idea. He knows Molino better than I do."

I looked at Bev. "You know him, too. What do you think he'll do?"

She shrugged. "He likes making a grand entrance, gloating about any victories. I bet he'll wait until the shooting is over before appearing. And if things go the way **we** hope, he'll slink away to plan for the next attack." She swallowed hard. "He won't give up until he wins."

"None of us are going to let that happen." Her father gripped her arms with his hands. "Trust us, Bev."

"I do. They're going to make a move tonight, aren't they?" She looked at each of us in turn.

Bertoli glanced my way before replying to her. "Yes. But so will we."

"What are you planning?" she asked.

He shrugged. "The best defense, naturally."

Bev studied him for a minute. "Well, I'd better be off. I took Marisa home from the hospital this morning but made her promise she'd have dinner with me tonight. When I mentioned this place, her eyes lit up."

"Then I'm happy Jess changed the venue for the party." Bertoli smiled at her.

Once she was gone, I went to find Jess again. She was talking to Tina near the serving station.

"Greg, where did you go off to?"

"I was talking to Bertoli, and Bev came by for a while."

She smiled. "Nina just arrived. She's feeling much better."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I didn't see her come in."

"She came in the back. So what did Bev have to say?"

I took her hand. "She told your father she wanted nothing to do with Molino, but he insisted. And guess what? The man, himself, is arriving today."

She suddenly tensed. "Molino?"

"Relax. According to Bev, he won't show up until after the fact, and only if his side wins. Which isn't going to happen."

"I hope you're right." Jess put a hand on Tina's shoulder. "Tina's bodyguards are doubling as waiters for us."

I nodded. "Good idea."

Nina came through the kitchen doors with a list in her hand. She looked much better than she had that morning. "Oh, hi House. Jess, where's the microphone?"

"We ditched that when we changed venues. Instead, I asked Mr. Bertoli to provide an ice sculpture of a piano. They won't bring it out of the freezer until the last minute."

Nina grinned. "I like it!"

The guests began to arrive, including Marcello Locarno, with his personal bodyguards. He spotted us, smiled and strode to us, telling the two men with him to stay where they were. "My father will be here soon. He wants to inspect the arrangements to ensure you haven't missed something that would make us vulnerable."

The sisters exchanged frowns. "Mr. Bertoli assured us that he'd taken care of everything," Jess said.

"Oh, I'm sure he has, but my father has to see for himself." He smirked. "Even if his good friend Johnny Bertoli has already taken precautions."

My impression of Tony Locarno as a micromanager type was reinforced by his son. He wasn't that different from Carlo Molino in that way - they both had to be in control.

"You heard that Molino is flying in today?" I asked.

Marcello nodded. "Bertoli just told me. Perhaps we can end this right here and now."

Jess' eyes went wide. "I hope not!"

"Relax, Jess. If it happens, it'll be behind the scenes. You'll never know abut it." Marcello looked around. "Beverly isn't here yet?"

"She was, but she left to get her sister," I told him.

He looked disappointed. "My nephew's been chipper all day."

"I guess he's glad Marisa is out of the hospital."

"I'll say."

Tina came over. "Hi Uncle Marc."

"Hi, Sweetie. Are you helping Jess and Nina?"

"Yes. So's Julio. I'm glad you're here." She smiled at him.

"So am I."

Tina's brother arrived with his own bodyguards. Marcello was right. He looked happier than I'd ever seen him as he limped our way. "We all set?"

"Seems that way," his uncle replied.

Despite all the reassurances, the tension in the air was palpable. I hoped we were as prepared as we could be.

My phone played, and I took it out. "Speak to me, Edgar." I walked away from the Locarnos and Jess.

"Morgan wanted to storm the restaurant."

I wasn't surprised. "That sounds like him."

"Yeah, but Bernini shot the idea down. He's waiting for Giordano to bring Molino from the airport."

There'd been something I'd wondered about. "How much do Bernini and Giordano talk? Obviously Giodano is on board about crashing a party his daughters are catering, but do either of them realize that the party's for Beverly Fenstermaker's sister?"

"Her name never came up in my presence," Edgar replied. "Why is that important?"

"Because Bev's been working for Giordano, just as you've been driving for Bernini. Not that any of that will matter after tonight."

"I guess not. I'll call you when the big boss arrives and decisions are made."

"Thanks, Edgar." I closed the connection and told everyone, "They're waiting for Molino to arrive with Giordano so he can call the shots."

"Good. The longer they wait the readier we'll be," Ricky said. "I'll go tell Johnny."

My team arrived one at a time. Chase came over to us immediately and asked, "Where's Ellie?"

"She's taken over for me in the kitchen, coordinating the food." Jess pointed to the swinging doors.

He smiled and went to find Ellie.

Taub was scowling when he approached us. "When's the guest of honor arriving? I want to say hello and congrats, and then get the hell out of here."

"What's your problem?" Marcello pointed his thumb at the short guy and asked me, "Is he one of yours?"

"Unfortunately."

"Dr. Taub, you're acting as if something bad is going to happen." Jess smirked at him. "Instead, we're going to have a fantastic party."

"Where's your wife?" Nina asked. "I heard she was back in town with your daughter."

"Did you really think I'd expose her to something like this?" Taub eyes looked the ceiling.

"Like what?" Marcello demanded.

It was fun to watch other people harass him, much as I sort of agreed with him. I stood back and watched.

Thirteen slapped him on the back. "Go ahead, Taub. Tell 'em what your afraid of."

"What I want to know is why everyone's so calm. Do you all know something I don't?"

"Look around you," Jess replied. "There's more security here than around the President of the United States."

Jess was right, of course. We were surrounded by professional bodyguards rather than government employees. Maybe if Edgar was here I'd feel safer.

My phone rang again. "Is he here?" I asked Edgar.

"Yes. We leave in forty-five minutes. Time to set everything in motion at your end."


	175. Chapter 175

The showdown is about to begin, and House is becoming more and more anxious. Will he be able to hide it from everyone? We'll see.

Hope you enjoy. If you do, leave a few words.

Chapter 175.

As I limped back to the Locarnos, Jess and Nina near the tables set up for the party, I debated how much to tell them. They needed to be vigilant, but not frightened. In the end I decided the basic facts would work.

"Edgar just called. Molino arrived at the fruit company, and Morgan and his guys are leaving there in forty-five minutes," I told them.

Marcello looked at his watch. "That means they'll be here in a little more than an hour. It's five thirty now. I'll go tell my people."

"And I'll tell mine," Ricky said, walking off with his uncle.

Watching them go, I saw Tony Locarno enter with three bruisers and talk to Bernini, who continued to guard the door.

I rubbed my hands together and smiled. "I think we're in for a bit of a show."

Jess frowned. "I thought everything was happening in the background, that we wouldn't even know what was going on."

"Just go about your business," I told her. "Pretend it's a party like last Saturday night. They'll keep you out of it."

"You can't know that."

How could I convince her? Especially when my own nerves were frayed and I was doing all I could to keep from showing it.

It was Nina who put a hand on Jess' shoulder. "We have to trust these guys to do everything they can to keep us all safe. Right now, we still have tons to do. Come on." She steered her sister toward the tables. "Show me who you want to sit where."

I closed my eyes and sighed. There wasn't much I could do either to help the people guarding us or to help the catering company. Except for Taub, my team members had found things to do to help.

Wilson showed up as my eyes scanned the scene. "Looks like the Locarnos brought lots of muscle."

I nodded. "The opposition is on the way." I kept my face impassive.

"What? And you're just standing here like a general surveying his troops?"

"More like a king viewing his subjects." 

If I thought he'd laugh at that, I was wrong. Then again, he was my very own Eeyore.

"Wilson, did you ever think about the fact that, no matter how much we do to control our destinies, there are always factors we can't control?"

His eyes narrowed. "You're scared. The great Gregory House is frightened about what's going to happen. The man who's been reassuring everyone that it's all covered is shaking in his boots. If he were wearing boots." He laughed briefly. "It's a serious threat, isn't it?"

"Yes, unfortunately. No one has the complete picture of what we're up against. Morgan's a loose cannon. Bev says Molino usually holds back until he's sure of victory, but this is a different situation. And the people in danger are the women we...we love."

"You realize what you just said, don't you?"

"What, admitting my feelings about Jess? Haven't I already shown how I feel?" I balanced on my cane and looked at the floor. "That alone is scary." My voice was faint even to my own ears.

"To be so vulnerable? It's time you joined the rest of the population of this world."

I stared at him. Maybe that's what I was anxious about. I'd never been mainstream. Was I starting to be? How boring! No, even if my emotions and actions resembled those of everyone else, I was still myself. "That's not quite what I meant. Even if I have feelings like other people and show them, that doesn't make me John Q. Public."

He smiled but didn't reply.

A commotion at the entrance to the restaurant caught our eyes and ears, but it turned out to be nothing. Only a customer who had a reservation yet still had to wait for a table.

Then Bev arrived with her sister. No one was quite ready for them, but Marisa was definitely surprised to find us all waiting for her.

"You two can sit here." Nina led them to the table in the center of the space decorated for the party. "Marcello, please join them. You, too, Ricky."

The two men, uncle and nephew joined the sisters. I'd never seen such a big smile on Marisa's face. Everyone else sat at the surrounding tables, including the bodyguards who were dispersed around the area.

A few bodyguards remained near the front door, blending in with customers waiting for tables. Bertoli and Tony Locarno stood talking near the hostess podium. Neither one was smiling.

The waiters and waitresses, including Petey, Ellie, Tina and Julio, brought out platters of food, starting with an assortment of appetizers. Everything kept to the black and white theme, but I wasn't sure Marisa noticed until Julio wheeled out the ice sculpture of a microphone. Her eyes sparkled even brighter than the chandelier overhead.

Taub approached congratulate her on her recovery and then started to leave, but Thirteen called him over to sit with her, Foreman, and one of the bodyguards. He couldn't refuse.

Wilson and I sat at the next table with Hal Beck, one of the oncology staff doctors who treated Marisa, and his wife Doreen, a short and chubby woman who turned out to have a wicked sense of humor. I looked at Beck in a new light; any man who'd appreciate a woman like this enough to marry her was okay in my book.

As we talked, I sampled the cheese tray. I'd never seen the almost black one before. It turned out to be white inside the black waxy seal and to taste like a creamy smooth cheddar.

Surprisingly, the first of the enemy camp to arrive was Peter Giordano. Contrary to what Bev said, there was a tall, dark and handsome man with him who had to be Carlo Molino.

Bertoli and Toni Locarno barred their way into the restaurant. Although they kept their voices low, by their body language it was clear they were arguing with the two new arrivals.

After a few moments, they allowed Giordano to walk our way, escorted by two of Locarno's bodyguards. He made straight for Jess and Nina. In a loud voice he said, "I came to wish my daughters well."

The sisters wore identical scowls. Jess spoke first. "Thank you. Now you and your pal..." She indicated Molino with her chin. "...can go. We're having a private party here, and I know for a fact you weren't on the invitation list."

"Oh, Jess, I'm not here to make trouble," he whined and reached for her arm, but she shrugged him off.

"Don't touch me," she spat.

"Nina, at least you won't send your father away," he pleaded in a hurt voice.

Nina shook her head. "You lost your right to call yourself our father a while ago."

Giordano swallowed loudly enough that the whole room must have heard it. Then he caught sight of Bev. His eyes narrowed and he frowned as he approached her. "You. You've been spying for this lot all the time?" Anger flared in his cheeks.

"Mr. Giordano, we're trying to have a party for my sister, a celebration of her recovery. I'd like you to leave." She turned away from him, then turned back. "Oh, and I quit."

Giordano looked dejected as he made his way back to the front of the restaurant with the two bodyguards following. The look he gave his pal Molino was a mixture of disappointment and anger, then he walked out of the restaurant alone.

Molino's mouth formed a snarl, but he remained. He pointed to a table for two near the front.

Bernini shook his head and pointed to the door. It was like a pantomime, an old-fashioned silent film.

Molino glared at him and then at Locarno but left. I was itching to know what he'd said to Bernini and Locarno, but before I could find out, six men burst through the front door. The nearby bodyguards were able to grab two of them, while Morgan surged forward toward the area where we sat.

Edgar was at his left shoulder. Before they reached us, Edgar grabbed him and spun him around, then took a well-aimed swing at Morgan's jaw. Morgan shook it off but seemed put off-balance by Edgar's behavior.

I allowed myself a brief smile before Morgan and his remaining men stormed our tables. The bodyguards were out of their seats in seconds and formed a wall protecting Bev and Marisa, as well as their guests. Wilson stood, too, but I wasn't sure what he could do to help.

"Morgan," he called, and the man turned to look at him. "You know the cops are on their way. They're ready to arrest you for your assault on The Black Keys."

I stared at Wilson. Was he bluffing? Or had he actually called the cops after I told him Morgan was back in town? The important thing was whether Morgan believed him.

"We'll be out of here before they show. If we can't get at these lovely young women, there are plenty of others here tonight. I'm sure Mr. Bernini wouldn't like it if we made a shambles of his place."

His bluster was enough for all of Bernini's men and those who came with the Locarno's to surround Morgan and his few thugs. Morgan ignored the fact that the odds were against him. He threw a punch at the nearest man, knocking him into the ice sculpture. With his elbow, he incapacitated Foreman, who'd stood to lend a hand, but then Morgan tripped over Thirteen's strategically placed leg and fell.

The men who came with Morgan didn't give up either. They fought back the bodyguards who surrounded them until Morgan rose to his feet again. With a sneer at Thirteen, he moved quickly. Pulling a gun from his waistband, he reached for Jess, yanking her toward him and then pointing the gun to her head.

"This one comes with me." His voice penetrated the blood that rushed to my head. All I could focus on was the stricken look on Jess' face as Morgan back out through the fighting men.


	176. Chapter 176

We were away for the weekend, so this is a day late. Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger last time.

Hope you enjoy. If you do, leave a few words.

**Chapter 176**

Before Morgan could reach the door with Jess, I sprang out of my seat. I used my cane to knock the gun out of his hand. Edgar was there in a flash. He wrapped his arm around Morgan's neck and yanked until Morgan loosened his grip on Jess. I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me, out of harm's way, then watched as Edgar gave Morgan a proper thrashing.

Meanwhile, the bodyguards had subdued the rest of Morgan's men. Once Jess caught her breath, she told the crowd, "Sorry for the interruption. Please go back to enjoying your dinners. There's quite a lot more food to come." She smoothed her hair, swallowed experimentally as she rubbed her neck, kissed my cheek, and went back to the kitchen.

My heart eventually resumed its normal rate, especially when the bodyguards escorted Morgan and his men out of the restaurant, but I pushed my plate away until the next course came out, blackened chicken and sirloin cubes, along with cauliflower florets and white asparagus, to be dipped in a bechamel sauce or one made from black beans, both with tantalizing aromas. I looked at the food and then rose and walked to the kitchen, forcing myself to keep from running. The minute I saw Jess, directing her staff and Bertoli's cooks, I felt my shoulders unclench.

"What are you doing back here?" Her hands went to her hips.

I shrugged. "Thought I might be able to help."

Jess smirked and placed a hand on my cheek. "Were you checking up on me? Chill, Greg. Morgan's not going to come after anyone for a long time."

"He's only the muscle. What about your father and Molino? There's a back door." I swung my cane up to point in that direction, barely missing knocking over a huge pot of some boiling liquid. "The one Nina used to get it."

"The back door is locked and Locarno stationed a guard just outside." Her hand came to rest on my chest. She gave a gentle push. "Go enjoy your dinner." There was concern in her eyes. Why would she be worried about me? I wasn't the one still in danger. "Go," she repeated.

I had no choice but to return to my table. With occasional surreptitious glances toward the kitchen, I selected some meat and skewered it. Boy would I like to skewer Giordano and Molino! I dipped the steak in the almost black sauce and held it there long enough to cook it to a rare consistency. It certainly looked good.

The murmurs of approval all around me and the smiles of the other party attendees encouraged me to sample what I'd cooked. Wow, that was a good combination! I'd have to remember it the next time we ate here.

"Food's great," Doreen Beck said around a mouthful of chicken.

Her husband nodded. "Maybe we should hire the caterers for our daughter's engagement party."

"You should, " Wilson said, as Jess approach. "You can even mention it to Jess now."

"Are you the caterer?" Doreen asked.

"My sister and I." She glanced at me, then Wilson. "I hope everything's to your liking."

"I think you may have another client," he said.

"Oh, are you two planning a party soon?" Jess slipped easily into business mode.

"Our daughter is getting engaged." The grin on Doreen's plump face couldn't be wider. "If you can provide food this good, we'd love to have you do it. Only Meg and her fiance like oriental food."

"That's not a problem. When I have a chance, I'll bring you some sample menus."

She held out her hand. "Jess Giordano."

"I'm Doreen Beck. Pleased to meet you." She shook Jess hand. "Everything tonight was wonderful so far."

"Including the floor show?" I asked with a smirk.

"Oh that," Doreen looked to the ceiling. "I'd heard there might be some kind of altercation tonight, so I came prepared." She took something from her purse. "Pepper spray."

"Well, now I know I'll be safe the rest of the evening," I snarked.

Jess gave me her 'now behave Greg' look. "I have to go check on the dessert course, but I'll be back."

We made it through the main course without any more incidents. Locarno's guys filtered back into the restaurant. Guess they stored the thugs somewhere.

Before dessert was served, Bev rose to toast her sister. It was a nice enough speech as those things go, something about how worried she'd been when she'd heard Marisa was sick, although she insisted on calling her Marlene. She thanked all of the doctors for their hard work and expressed gratitude to everyone for coming. I noticed she hadn't invited her mother to the party.

Bev was followed by Ricky. "If you hadn't gotten sick, and we hadn't become involved with the doctors at PPTH and the Giordano sisters, I never would have met you." He turned from Marisa to face everyone else. "So here's to kismet and to the future."

The toasts over, the waiters and waitresses finally brought out the desserts. They continued the black and white theme. Black cherries and blackberries, chocolate brownie bites flavored with pepper, vanilla ice cream and tons of whipped cream, black and white cookies (and I don't mean Oreos), a white chocolate fondu, and many more. I tasted almost everything, but drew the line at the anise-flavored blood pudding. Just the smell turned me off.

The smiles on everyone's faces testified to their enjoyment. Of course, they'd all imbibed some of the wide choices of wine and two kinds of champagne, so the laughter was understandable.

"I guess we've made it through this without any real damage," Wilson said, but he spoke too soon.

The crowd was enjoying themselves so much they didn't notice the reentrance of Carlo Molino and he wasn't alone. They caught Bertoli off-guard. One of them grabbed him and passed him to Molino, who shouted loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear. "The party is over. This restaurant is closed until further notice."

His Italian accent was thicker than those who'd live in the U.S. for many years, but the English was flawless. Diners didn't know what to make of him or his announcement. Most were in the middle of a delicious meal. A few stood immediately and scurried out the front door, but the rest stood their ground.

Locarno stood next to the table where his son, nephew, Bev and Marisa were enjoying their dessert. His voice was as commanding as Molino's and his accent less pronounced. "Your issues are with me and my family, not all of these innocent people. I'll ask you and your goons to release Signor Bertoli and leave immediately."

Molino stared at him. "You cannot believe you can intimidate me, do you?"

"It's you can't, can you," Marcello stood shoulder to shoulder with his father. "And yes we can."

"Bertoli has been working with you. He knew the consequences." Molino held a gun to the restauranteur's head.

A cry escaped from Bev despite the hand she slammed to her mouth. Molino's eyes narrowed. "Beverly? Is that you? What do you have to do with all of these people?"

She stood, took a deep breath and walked steadily toward him, despite Marcello hand reaching for her arm and his whispered, "Bev, don't". She shook him off. "Hello, Carlo. Welcome to my world."

"You know these people?"

"The man you're holding is my father, and I won't let you hurt him."

Marcello hadn't been able to stop her, so he motioned for his men to close in on Molino.

Molino stared at Bev. "Did they send you to Italy?"

"It was a fortuitous meeting. I knew who you were when we met."

"You didn't answer my question. Did Bertoli send you to spy on me?"

Bev shrugged. "I was in Europe, studying. When I met you, I decided I could help my father by gaining information about you and your operations." She smiled. "I'm glad I did because it's helped him in defending himself against your little vendetta."

"Ah, but is it helping him now?" He tightened his grip on Bertoli. "It would seem to me that I have the, how you say, upper hand." Molino sneered.

She shook her head. "You won't be able to go far." Her eyes flicked to the men closing in on Molino and her father.

Molino stiffened, but held tightly to Bertoli and pressed his gun to Bertoli's head. "Tell everyone to let us go, or I shoot."

Edgar had returned from disposing of Morgan and his men. He inched closer and closer to Molino, staying out of his view, while two of the bodyguards covered the front door. "Signor Molino," he called.

The Italian turned his head to see who said his name, and his gun arm automatically lowered.

A bodyguard and Edgar were on him in a flash, freeing Bertoli and capturing Molino. Edgar knocked the gun out of his hand.

Bev ran to her father. His arms enveloped her.

"What do we do with this dirtbag?" Edgar asked no one in particular.

"We'll take care of him," Locarno said. He motioned for three of his men to grab Molino and escort him from the restaurant.

I didn't want to know what had happened to Morgan, but I was curious about what Locarno would do with Molino.

"Eat up, everyone. I think the second act is over," Locarno said. He sat again and took a large piece of the blood pudding, smiling as he began to eat it.

Everyone else found their seats. Wilson practically collapsed into his. "So, it's over?"

"You know what Yogi said."

"But they have Morgan and Molino," he argued.

"You're forgetting someone."

I saw the moment the penny dropped. "Giordano? But he's only small potatoes. With Molino out of the picture, he should fold."

"You think so?" I shook my head. "Don't be so quick to count him out. The way he's treated Jess and Nina, it's clear he has an agenda. With Molino taken down he can take over the operations in New Jersey. And don't forget Bernini."

"I thought Bernini was brought in as a replacement when Julio wouldn't finish the job he was sent to do."

I'd wondered about that. "If that was all he was here for, he wouldn't have set up the fruit company after his attempted attack on Ricky failed. That may have been a smoke screen to throw the Locarnos off."

"So you expect more from them tonight?" His eyes went to the front doors, but they remained blissfully closed.

"It can happen at any time."


	177. Chapter 177

I'll be away for the weekend again next week, but I'll post when we get home. That should be the last chapter of this story. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Chapter 177.**

Based on the way Locarno's guys and Edgar handled Morgan and Molino, I was pretty sure they could deal with Giordano if he returned. Scratch that. When he returned. What I didn't know was what form his attack would take.

The food was all gone, the party was winding down, and the cleanup crew had started to collect dirty plates and glasses when we found out.

Giordano appeared in the doorway with a dozen or so brawny men. Two of them stiff-armed Bertoli.

"Isn't that the bartender from Boomer's?" I asked Ellie, who happened to be passing by with a load of dishes.

She looked toward the door and practically dropped them all. "What's he doing here? And those other men. They're all from Dorsey."

I shouldn't have been surprised that Giordano would call in men he knew, men who'd worked for him over the years. Did they know that the people he was targeting were his daughters and their staff including Ellie and Petey?

Nina and Jess both approached them all. "What are you guys doing here?" Jess demanded, hands on her hips. "How'd my father involve you all in his ill-conceived plans?"

"Jessica?" A young tough with a full head of pale blond hair and a clean-shaven face stared at her. He turned to Giordano. "You didn't tell us Jess and Nina would be here."

"Hi, Henry." Nina stood at her sister's side. "And Mitch? Does your wife know what you're up to?"

All of the men looked toward Giordano and started talking at once.

Giordano's hand moved up and down as if he was compressing a pile of garbage. "Calm down, boys. I've got a legitimate beef with some of the people here, including my traitor daughters. You all agreed to help me. Don't go chicken on me now."

"What kind of beef?" Blondie asked. "I thought the guys you're after hurt your kids, but seems to me, these are your kids."

"Henry, you tend to get into trouble when you start thinking." Giordano pointed to Locarno. "That's the man who's caused me all kinds of trouble, standing in the way of me and my friends." He looked around the restaurant through narrowed eyes. "What happened to Carlo?"

"Same thing that happened to all of his thugs." I couldn't help myself. I'd do anything to undermine him.

But that focused his attention on me. "That one too. He's the reason my daughters turned on me. In fact, Henry, he could use a good thrashing."

Locarno strode toward him. "Giordano, you may be the big fish in that tiny pond of Dorsey, but you're up against the big guns here. Tell your men to let Senor Bertoli go and we can talk about this like civilized men." His voice was soft, but the steel behind it was evident. He shook his head. "Without Molino's support, you won't get far in Princeton or Trenton. You could have some value to me and my businesses." He shrugged. "Let bygones be bygones. Don't you want to regain your children's trust and love? We all know family is everything."

Even Giordano's men were nodding. The two holding Bertoli let him go. The room became quiet as everyone watched Locarno and Giordano.

"What support? What guarantees do I have?" Giordano seemed to be considering Locarno's proposition.

"You know the influence I have in central New Jersey. I would use it to help you open your restaurant, start any other businesses you wish. You have my word. I honor my promises." Locarno calmly sat in the nearest chair. "Come sit and talk to me. Let's see what we can work out." He patted the chair beside him.

Giordano hesitated at first, but finally sat on the edge of the chair. "What are you proposing?" he repeated.

"I know you're having difficulties getting the permits you need for your restaurant."

"Who told you that?" Giordano's belligerent tone didn't auger well for this discussion. "Did you have something to do with the hold ups?"

Locarno dismissed his assertion with a wave of his hand. "Your association with Molino gave me no choice. But now, now that we're buddies, you'll see. Everything will go as smooth as the flow of vino from this bottle to this glass." He poured some of the red wine we'd had with dinner and handed the glass to Giordano. "Drink up. We have much to celebrate tonight in addition to the good health of our lovely songbird, Marisa, no?"

"So I can expect your support in the opening of my restaurant?" Giordano's narrowed eyes and frown showed his disbelief.

"Of course. And all of Molino's businesses will now need an experienced businessman like yourself to run them. He poked a finger in Giordano's chest. "If you ever need my assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to call. But you'll be the one in charge." He was giving Jess' father everything he hoped to get by force but without any bloodshed or broken bones.

"Impressive," Wilson whispered.

"Finesse. Something you've never learned," I replied.

Wilson smirked for some reason.

Locarno wasn't finished. "You've probably learned already that Princeton isn't Dorsey. That you need connections to get anything done here. I'm offering you those connections. What do you say?"

Giordano took a sip of wine and smiled, looking at the glass. "I should think about it."

"What's there to think about? We're both businessmen, and we can help each other."

"What do you want from me? How can I possibly help you?"

"By ending this vendetta of Molino's here and now." Locarno shrugged. "It's a waste of energy and resources. Time too."

"I still can't believe you'd help me."

"Someone has to take over Molino's interests. Why not you?"

"And this way you can control those businesses?"

Locarno tilted his head. "I wouldn't say control."

"What would you say?"

"I'd know that the man who does control them will work with me and not against me." He put a hand on Giordano's shoulder. "Whaddya say, amico?"

Giordano looked around the room. His eyes settled on his daughters, standing side-by-side. "Jessica, Nina can you forgive your father?" The pleading in his eyes wasn't a ploy.

"If you will agree to Signor Locarno's plan we could begin to forgive." Jess took a few steps toward him. "You hurt us both deeply. I'm not sure I will ever understand why."

"It's a start," he said, and then turned to Locarno. "How do we do this?"

"Come to my office tomorrow. We'll draw up the papers needed to transfer all of Molino's businesses to you."

"You can do that?" Giordano blinked.

Locarno waved a hand. "There are ways. Laws and loopholes in the law. I'll have one of my lawyers there to make sure it's all legal and binding."

"What will happen to Molino?"

"That's a good question. If we ship him back to Italy, there's nothing to keep him from coming after all of us again."

I cleared my throat to get their attention. "You've been looking into his businesses to find any legal offenses that would bring the police into this. Did you find anything?"

Locarno grinned at me and nodded. "Funny you should ask, Doctor. Yes. Especially Bernini's fruit company. We've already contacted the federal authorities about some irregularities. They should be enough to imprison Bernini and have Molino deported, but possibly, even as an Italian citizen, he could be incarcerated as well."

"And Morgan?" Giordano asked.

"He has a record. I'm sure the local police would be interested to know what he's been doing since he's been out of jail."

"How long have you known Morgan?" Jess asked her father.

"You know he worked for me in Shelby. That seems so long ago."

Petey frowned. He'd been clearing our table, but now he joined the conversation. "You do remember that he was the one who killed Mother." His voice grew louder with each sentence, as if he was letting loose resentment he'd stored for over ten years. "All this time that you've blamed me for her death, you should have been blaming the man who really killed her and was even jailed for it. How can you work with men who'd hire him?"

I found myself saying. "I guess your son isn't eager to forgive you."

Giordano favored me with one of his better grimaces before shifting his eyes to Jess. "Is this the kind of hate for me your doctor friend taught you?"

"Greg didn't have to 'teach' me anything. You brought this on yourself. Even if I forgive you for some of what you've done, I will never forget the way you've acted, especially toward Petey."

"Now, now." Locarno's conciliatory tone couldn't cut through the tension between Giordano and his children. "I'm sure we can find a way for Signor Giordano to make amends for his recent behavior. You do want to, my friend, don't you?" he asked Giordano.

He nodded. "I...I miss my children."

There were several things I could say, but they'd only add fuel to the fire in Petey and cause Jess and Nina's anger to flare, so for once I kept quiet. Maybe it was for the best that Locarno smooth things over between their father and them.

"So, it's agreed?" Locarno said. "You will meet me tomorrow and we will set a path for the future, one that includes rebuilding your relationship with your children."

Giordano nodded again. "It is what I most desire."

Locarno didn't ask Nina, Jess or Petey. Wise man. I doubt any of them was so sure they wanted a relationship with their father.

The two men shook on it. I hoped it would work out, more for Jess' sake than anything else.

"Are we through here?" My voice boomed in the almost silent room.

The servers resumed their clean-up duties, and the guests resumed their murmured conversations.

Locarno held onto Giordano's hand with his left and put his right hand on Papa's shoulder. Their voices were lower as they continued to talk.

Jess came over to me. "I have to stay until the tables are cleared and everything is put away, but you can go home if you want."

"I'll wait." I sat back in my chair and she strode to the kitchen.

"That was kind of an anticlimax after the earlier events." Wilson's penchant for stating the obvious hadn't left him.

"Did you want it to be worse? I don't know about Nina, but Jess has had a lingering hope that her father would eventually see the light."

"Come over from the dark side?" Wilson smirked. "We'll see how long that lasts."

I shrugged. "Such a cynic. I see now, though, how Locarno's gotten so far."

Wilson nodded. "I do like his style."

One by one, the guests said a few parting words to Marisa and left. Bev never left her sister's side.

"Someone has to say it: all's well that ends well." Wilson stood to join the line of guests.

I remained at my seat, hoping he was right.


	178. Chapter 178

We just got back from our weekend trip. Here is the final chapter of this story. It's short, but after such a long story, I thought it was right.

**Chapter 178.**

Marisa looked tired but she grinned as she walked out with Bev, Ricky and Marcello. She'd probably return to work in a week or so.

Locarno left The Melting Pot with his bodyguards after a long talk with Giordano. Both men seemed pleased with whatever agreement they'd come to even shaking hands on it. Papa took a final long look at the kitchen doors before sighing and leaving alone.

The restaurant was almost empty when Jess was ready to leave. The tables were cleared and the cleaning crew were stacking chairs upside down on the tables. Some of the food aromas remained, but none of the food. A muffled clatter of staff washing dishes came from the kitchen. Didn't Bertoli have electric dishwashers back there?

"I'm exhausted." Jess dropped into the still-upright chair next to mine. "Give me a minute to catch my breath, and then we can go."

"Sure." I'd gotten a cup of coffee from Ellie so I'd be sober enough to drive home. There was on gulp left.

We watched Nina leave with Wilson. She waved and shouted to Jess, "Call you tomorrow."

Jess put a hand over my right one, lacing her fingers with mine. "Thanks. I don't think I could have gotten through tonight without you." She beamed at me.

"Don't sell yourself short, Jess. You used your own skills, not mine, to build a successful business."

"Maybe. But I might have crumbled with tonight's unexpected events if I didn't know you were here."

I shook my head. "The Locarnos' bodyguards and Edgar handled it all. And Locarno himself. I just sat here, enjoying the wonderful food and the floor show."

Jess smirked. "And who made sure they'd be here? You don't have to do things yourself if you can get others to do them for you."

I hid my smile. "Let's go home and you can show me your gratitude."

She chuckled. "Okay, c'mon." She rose again. "Just remember, while you've been sitting, I've been on my feet most of the day."

"What I have in mind is best done lying down." I wiggled my eyebrows and stood too.

Jess was grinning when we left the restaurant, but I knew how to make her grin even more.

Once we were home, she went straight to the refrigerator, emerging quickly with a half-finished bottle of wine. "Want some?" She waved the bottle at me.

"I think I had enough for one night. The bubbly you served was superb. Didn't you have any?"

"I was too busy, but now I just want to relax." She poured herself a glass and sat on the couch.

I didn't need her to pat the spot beside her to know she wanted me there. "Still wound up?"

She nodded. "It'll take me a while. The swing from dread to euphoria combined with the sheer physical effort tonight were more than enough to get me keyed up."

"Let me take care of that." I massaged her shoulders as she sipped the wine, then moved my hands around to the back of her neck. The muscles were tighter than size six pants on a super-sized woman. I loosened them some before moving down her back, pressing my palms along each and every vertebrae.

Jess closed her eyes and sighed. "I think I might put you on retainer, schedule a treatment like this after every party we do."

"Here's hoping the rest won't be anything like this one."

"Greg, do you think my father was honestly considering Mr. Locarno's offer?"

"We can only hope so. He still doesn't understand why you all turned away from him, and he wants your loyalty again, so he'd probably do anything to gain it. Little does he know that you and your sister and brother have seen the light. It will take a lot to get any of you to trust him again." I ran my hands down her sides once, twice, three times. "We may not trust your father to keep up his end of the bargain, but I for one trust Locarno."

She nodded.

"Locarno knew how to appeal to any shred of family loyalty he has left. All we can do is hope your father will honor their deal. And if he renegs, Locarno is on our side. He'll take care of him for us."

She nodded. "I guess time will tell." Her body slumped a bit, muscles no longer taut, but I continued to rub her back. Once she was relaxed enough, I upped the tempo. "Oh, that's even better!" She leaned into my hands.

After another ten minutes, it was time to take this to the bedroom. I stood and held out my hand, and Jess took it. Arms intertwined we headed to bed. The massage I'd given her was just the appetizer, a prelude to what we did next.

I pushed the bedclothes off with my cane and we both fell onto the mattress. I smoothed her hair off her face and kissed her forehead, her cheeks and her lips. She was already grinning. Her hands slithered down my sides and cupped my cheeks. And I don't mean the ones on my face.

We quickly removed each others clothing. The touch of her bare skin against mine was more stimulating than any porn flick. This was the real deal. The taste of the wine on her lips added to my excitement. The perkiness of her breasts showed she was excited too.

I found that spot that I knew would rouse her still more, and she returned the favor. My body ached for her.

When we joined, it felt like the best thing in the world. Together we continued to ascend until all thought vanished and everything was pure satisfaction.

Afterward, I lay back, a big grin on my face. "And you said you were exhausted."

"You always re-energize me."

I glanced at her. She was smiling too. "Guess you'd better keep me around."

"I hope to." She turned her body toward mine and kissed my cheek. "Forever and ever." She rained kisses on my eyelids and lips.

"Sounds like a mushy love song."

"What's wrong with those? As long as we don't make a steady diet of them."

My arms found their way around her body. The warmth and calm lulled me to sleep.

When I woke, Jess was still sleeping. She hadn't moved far from me, but sometime during the night, she'd donned one of her silky nightshirts. Those things were almost as smooth as her skin. I studied her face, completely relaxed and lovely.

Looking at her lying next to me brought a peace to my mind and heart I'd never had. The incessant thoughts warring inside my head were clearer, and my heart had learned to sing a new song.

How had I reached this point in my life? I don't know how I lost sight of my worth and of what was important to me. Sure, my life had meaning all along. I think it was after I was shot, that I hallucinated telling Cuddy that what I had, what I valued most in myself, was my brain, my ability to connect disparate facts to obtain a diagnosis. That was my gift to the world. I might not have cared about all of my patients, but I'd always cared about finding the solution to the puzzle of their illness.

I was only partially right. Now I felt as if my life had more meaning than ever. Jess had brought me that. She'd given me the happiness and serenity to make full use of my brain without the torture of conflicting thoughts and the sadness of being totally alone. I'd never be alone again.

I loved the idea that I could work behind the scenes, solve problems for people I cared for, without them fully being aware of it. That's right. I cared for people. Sure I cared for and about Jess, but there were others. Not many but a few.

Jess had taught me that, too. Taught me that it was okay to help people besides my patients, that it enhanced my reputation rather than diminished it.

She stirred and smiled at me. "What were you thinking just now?"

"That maybe life is good."

THE END


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